DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2010,  Official Report, column 740, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, how many contracts Joint Force Support manage in Afghanistan; which organisations those contracts are with; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Joint Force Support currently manages 44 contracts in Afghanistan. I am withholding the names of the companies as their disclosure would prejudice commercial interests and would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the  (a) number of pallets,  (b) tonnage of supplies and (c) number of flights to Afghanistan taken by (i) RAF transport and (ii) leased transport aircraft in each of the last six years.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not lease aircraft, ie rent them to be flown by MOD pilots, but rather charters with private companies to fly on the MOD's behalf. The number of pallets, weight of supplies (in tonnes) and number of flights taken by RAF and civilian chartered aircraft to Afghanistan over the last six calendar years are as follows:
	
		
			   RAF aircraft  Civilian leased aircraft 
			   Number of pallets  Weight of supplies (in tonnes)  Number of flights  Number of pallets  Weight of supplies (in tonnes)  Number of flights 
			 2005 890 2,579 144 0 0 0 
			 2006 2,368 6,572 394 1,652 3,792 116 
			 2007 3,268 7,550 513 3,258 8,678 234 
			 2008 3,072 6,709 538 4,113 8,817 266 
			 2009 3,654 8,225 619 4,756 10,675 461 
			 2010 2,792 6,971 533 3,756 9,568 443 
		
	
	The figures provided include direct flights from the UK to Afghanistan as well as those via interim destinations, such as Cyprus.

AWE Aldermaston

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the  (a) work programme and  (b) budget of AWE Aldermaston of changes to the timetable for the replacement of Trident; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the implications for the Hydrus project at AWE Aldermaston of changes to the timetable for the replacement of Trident.

Peter Luff: Work is ongoing to examine the effects of the outcome of the strategic defence and security review on the work programme and budget of the Atomic Weapons Establishment. This includes the effect of changes to the timetable for the replacement of Trident.
	With regard to the Hydrus project, I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 November 2010,  Official Report, column 575W, to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert).

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Employment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the arts sector in each of the borough areas of Greater London; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: This Department does not hold this information. Arts Council England holds information for the number of arts sector staff, in each employment category, in their Regularly Funded Organisations (RFOs). The 2009-10 Greater London figures supplied are in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
			  Local authority  Permanent full-time  Permanent part-time  Contractual 
			 Barnet 26 9 166 
			 Brent 24 44 443 
			 Camden 312 171 1,396 
			 City of London 403 31 658 
			 Ealing 5 3 2 
			 Enfield 15 1 67 
			 Greenwich 16 8 374 
			 Hackney 170 161 1,129 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 84 53 859 
			 Haringey 4 17 29 
			 Hounslow 55 17 121 
			 Islington 316 191 1,732 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 64 30 602 
			 Lambeth 929 322 4,003 
			 Lewisham 41 17 357 
			 Merton 14 22 96 
			 Newham 42 35 336 
			 Redbridge 7 1 26 
			 Southwark 221 213 1,119 
			 Tower Hamlets 147 111 1,754 
			 Waltham Forest 8 1 1,962 
			 Wandsworth 61 30 360 
			 Westminster 1,293 553 3,832 
			 Total 4,257 2,041 21,423

Broadband

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what interim targets he has established in support of his target for high speed broadband connectivity in 2015.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has set no specific interim target. Broadband Delivery UK is assessing current broadband provision at community level across the UK in its work to deliver the coalition Government's objective to facilitate deliver the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015.

Rupert Murdoch

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings  (a) he,  (b) Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) Rupert Murdoch, (ii) James Murdoch, (iii) Rebekah Wade, (iv) individuals representing News International, (v) individuals representing News Corporation and (vi) individuals representing BSkyB since 4 November 2010.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 21 December 2010
	Since 4 November 2010, neither Ministers nor officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have formally met with Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, Rebekah Wade, any other individuals representing News International, or individuals representing News Corporation.
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport met with representatives from BSkyB on 29 November to discuss local television matters. On 4 November an individual from BSkyB attended my roundtable on digital content.

TRANSPORT

First Capital Connect

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance of First Capital Connect with its franchise agreement.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport officials monitor First Capital Connect's performance against the contract on a four-weekly basis. This review includes operational performance and the delivery of committed obligations.

Midland Main Line: Standards

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010,  Official Report, column 1001W, on the Midland main line: standards, what elements comprise the package of works approved in the spending review to allow increased line speeds on the Midland Main Line by 2013.

Theresa Villiers: The detail of the works and locations where line speeds will be increased on the Midland Main Line is set by Network Rail and is published in their 'CP4 Delivery Plan 2010 Enhancement Programme', available from their website.

Railways: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the interim report of Sir Roy McNulty's value for money review; and for what reasons it was not published prior to 7 December 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport received a draft of the rail value for money study interim submission in September 2010 to help inform its spending review decisions. The document was then published on 7 December 2010, to coincide with the Government's announcement on franchising and the future structure of the rail industry-the report provides important context for that announcement.

Railways: Overcrowding

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to reduce the level of overcrowding on the rail network in  (a) London,  (b) non-metropolitan urban areas and  (c) metropolitan areas.

Theresa Villiers: The Government have confirmed their commitment to implement the Crossrail and Thameslink projects, which will significantly increase rail capacity in and through London and the south-east.
	In total the Government will deliver more than 2,100 new rail carriages on to the network by May 2019, which will increase the fleet by around 1,850 vehicles net. An announcement on where additional carriages will be located will be made after negotiations with train operators have concluded.
	The Department for Transport has entered into agreements with the following operators to enhance the size of their fleets so that more or longer trains can operate in future: Southern; Southeastern; National Express East Anglia; First Capital Connect; London Midland; Northern; First Great Western; and East Midlands Trains. Additional carriages have also been ordered for West Coast main line services.
	In parallel with this, a number of platform lengthening schemes will be delivered over the coming years enabling longer trains to be run. Details of the specific plans are available from the Network Rail website at:
	www.networkrail.co.uk
	We also remain committed to the High Speed 2 Project to the west midlands and the north of England. This will reduce journey times, provide more capacity and relieve existing lines.

Railways: Snow and Ice

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with train operators serving Brighton on the level of service provided during the recent severe weather; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport officials were in regular contact with Southern Railway during the adverse weather. This dialogue has included how trains became stranded and what lessons are being learned. Additionally, both I and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, have discussed the issues directly with senior managers at Southern.
	As announced in his statement of 22 October 2010, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, commissioned David Quarmby CBE to conduct an audit of the performance of transport systems during the extreme weather and of the implementation of the recommendations in his report of October 2010. The findings of this audit were published on 21 December 2010, and emphasised the more severe effect of the weather this winter compared with the previous two winters. The rail industry is being asked to formulate proposals on contingency timetables, improve information to passengers, and examine technological improvements. Network Rail and operators will be asked to focus on their post-winter review of operational performance, as recommended in the audit.
	The Secretary of State has also asked the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser to update what our planning assumption should be for future severe winter weather.

Railways: Travel Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the processes in place to inform passengers about disruption to rail services.

Theresa Villiers: An independent review of how our transport systems coped with the last two winters was published on 22 October 2010. The review, commissioned by Transport Ministers and chaired by transport expert, David Quarmby CBE, made a number of recommendations to improve transport resilience during winter conditions for the future.
	The Secretary of State asked David Quarmby CBE to audit the implementation of the recommendations in this report to assess the extent to which measures have been consistently implemented, and whether there are any lessons that could be learnt from the recent severe winter weather. The effectiveness of communication with passengers was a key area on which the audit was asked to focus. The audit was published on 21 December 2010 and recommendation six is:
	"The rail industry should continue the development and improvement of the systems for managing contingency timetables and for supporting, feeding and making more resilient the downstream information systems for passengers, having particular regard to the effectiveness of work-arounds needed when circumstances require."
	The Department for Transport supports this recommendation.
	The Secretary of State wrote to train operators on 2 December to remind them of their obligations with regard to information to passengers during periods of service disruption and to inform them that the ORR would be monitoring performance. Additionally the Secretary of State and I chaired telephone conferences with senior rail industry officials on 15 December to discuss their response to the severe weather, emphasising passenger information as a priority.

Railways: Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on their assessment of rail transport requirements in Wales; and what the process is for taking account of the assessment in the high level output specification for 2012.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport Ministers have discussed cross border rail links, including electrification, with the Deputy First Minister. Welsh Assembly Government officials work with the Department preparing for the next high level output specification for the period 2014-19.

Railways: Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on the high level output specification for rail in Wales.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport's high level output specification for the period 2009-10 to 2013-14 was issued in July 2007. The Secretary of State and I have discussed major rail projects with the Deputy First Minister and Department officials meet regularly with Welsh Assembly Government rail officials and Network Rail. The next high level output specification for Great Britain as a whole covering the period 2014 to 2019 is expected to be issued in 2012.

Sea Rescue

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the criteria used to determine the coastguard stations his Department has proposed for closure and the reasons why such criteria were not included in the consultation document Protecting our Seas and Shores in the 21st Century.

Michael Penning: The proposed locations of Maritime Operations Centres and sub-centres are based on a range of operational and value for money factors which are outlined in full on pages 22 and 23 of the consultation document 'Protecting our Seas and Shores in the 21st Century'.
	As part of this consultation the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has asked for comments and supporting evidence on any factors relevant to these choices.

Sea Rescue

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how coastguard staff will receive improvements in remuneration following the implementation of proposals in his Department's consultation document, Protecting our Seas and Shores in the 21st Century and the reasons why detail on the proposed improved remuneration were not published in that document.

Michael Penning: The proposals for a modernised coastguard service envisages a higher skilled, higher paid but reduced work force operating in fewer locations. It should be noted that these are currently only proposals which are subject to public consultation and no final decisions will be made until this process is complete. It would therefore not be appropriate to outline such detailed information at this stage. Once a final decision is made the remuneration for the new roles in the modernised coastguard service will then need to be negotiated with the appropriate trade unions.

Sea Rescue

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to take steps to ensure the knowledge of the local coastline held by coastguard officers at the stations proposed for closure is replicated in his Department's proposed new structure for coastguard services.

Michael Penning: It is the aim of the proposals on the modernisation of the coastguard that local geographical knowledge will be retained and improved principally in the new management structure of the coastguard rescue service. The coastguard rescue teams will continue to be the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) dynamic link to local coastal communities. The existing centres, which manage many hundreds of miles of coastline, already are increasing use of technology such as global mapping and information services as well as satellite imagery. In the proposed modernised coastguard service the MCA would maximise and standardise such innovation, provide a 24/7 provision from within coastal communities and provide appropriate training. The MCA will also maintain its current strong working relationships with partner search and rescue organisations such as the RNLI, in which considerable local knowledge and expertise reside.

Sea Rescue: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with  (a) local authorities in Scotland and  (b) the Scottish Executive on the proposed closure of coastguard stations in Scotland.

Michael Penning: Maritime safety is a reserved matter for the UK Government.
	The consultation I launched on 16 December is an opportunity for all UK local authorities, and the devolved Administrations, to consider their views and respond to the proposals we have made. I would encourage them to do so.

South Eastern Trains: Vacancies

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of South Eastern Trains on filling staff vacancies.

Theresa Villiers: I have not had discussions with Southeastern regarding the filling of staff vacancies. I expect Southeastern to use careful judgment to ensure sufficient staff are available to deliver the outputs required under its franchise agreement.
	Under the terms of its franchise agreement, Southeastern is contracted to deliver specific outputs and my officials meet with Southeastern on a four-weekly basis to review its performance.

Train Operating Companies: Weather

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) meetings and  (b) discussions he had with train operating companies during the winter weather of November and December 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: Department for Transport officials have been in regular contact with franchised train operating companies during the recent winter weather to understand the extent of the problems experienced and operators' plans to restore normal operations.
	The Secretary of State and other Ministers have also discussed the issues of severe winter weather with operators and with relevant Network Rail managers by teleconference and at regular meetings to discuss rail performance.
	On 2 December 2010, the Secretary of State wrote to train operating companies to remind them of their obligations in respect of provision of accurate information to customers in the event of disruption to service.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality Act 2010

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to make a decision on the implementation of dual discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: We are considering how best to take forward the dual discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010 in the best way for business and others with rights and responsibilities under the Act.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Anne Begg: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to implement its obligations arising from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in respect of  (a) Article 5 on Equality and Non-discrimination,  (b) Article 6 on Women and Disability and  (c) other Articles of that Convention.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) takes its obligations under the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) very seriously, recognising the commitment that Government have made to equality of rights and improving outcomes for disabled people.
	In their equality strategy, 'Building a Fairer Britain', published on 2 December 2010, the Government committed to address the causes of inequality and promote equal opportunities for all. The strategy is available in alternative formats. It includes addressing the specific barriers experienced by disabled people, working closely with the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) which leads on this topic.
	For example, the GEO is working closely with the Cabinet Office and the Office for Disability Issues to take forward the Government's commitment to introduce extra support for disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials. In drawing up proposals, we have taken account of the evidence set out by the cross-party Speakers Conference and involved the expertise of disabled people and disabled organisations.
	The GEO works across Government to promote equality and leads on equality legislation. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination and harassment for people with protected characteristics which include gender and disability. We will introduce a new public sector Equality Duty in 2011 and we are working closely with ODI on this: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Disabled People (Maria Miller) on 10 November 2010,  Official Report, column 344W.
	The equality strategy also commits the UK to set a good example through our implementation of UN conventions on equality and periodic reporting, including UNCRPD. The UK Government will report to the UN in July 2011 setting out how implementation has been achieved across Government. GEO officials are working with officials at ODI in preparing the report.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Departmental Telephone Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, for what reason the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) proposes to operate its telephone enquiry service between the hours of 1pm and 5pm on weekdays; for what reason no telephone enquiry service is to be provided before 1pm; what the cost to IPSA was of operating the system under the existing hours; what estimate IPSA has made of the cost of operating the system under the new hours; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 6 January 2011:
	As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for what reason the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) proposes to operate its telephone enquiry service between the hours of 1pm and 5pm on weekdays; for what reason no telephone enquiry service is to be provided before 1pm; what the cost to IPSA was of operating the system under the existing hours; what estimate IPSA made of the cost of operating the system under the new hours.
	The new operating hours for the telephone enquiry service are being introduced in order to provide a more effective service to users by concentrating the available resources during the peak period for demand between 1pm and 5pm. IPSA receives between 150 and 200 calls per day, and monitors demand for its telephone advice service carefully. It is intended that, by concentrating resources to the busiest period, it will be possible to answer calls more promptly.
	Our aim in doing this is to provide a more speedy and cost-effective service to MPs and their staff.
	The cost of the current service is based on staff costs for 4 dedicated team members; the revised service will be based on 7.5usb members of staff available between 1pm and 5pm.

Members: Allowances

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2010,  Official Report, column 856W, on Members: allowances, if the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will arrange to place in the Library a copy of the correspondence.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 6 January 2011:
	As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 856W, on Members: allowances, if the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will arrange for a copy of the correspondence to be placed in the Library. I can confirm that a copy of the correspondence has been placed in the Library.

Members: Allowances

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the average time taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to process claims for rental payments was in the latest period for which figures are available; what target time has been set for the processing of such claims; what the reason has been for the time taken to process such claims; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald, dated 6 January 2011:
	As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average time taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to process claims for rental payments was in the latest period for which figures are available; what target time has been set for the processing of such claims; what the reason has been for the time taken to process such claims.
	IPSA does not monitor the time taken to process rental claims independently of other claims. IPSA has a target of processing 95% of all claims within 12 working days, where appropriate evidence has been provided. If property has not been registered, or insufficient evidence has been supplied, the time taken to process a claim may be extended. During November 2010 - the latest period for which figures are available - 89.81% of claims were processed within 12 working days, This represents 13,156 out of a total of 14,648 claims received.
	The average time taken to process a claim during November was 7.33 working days.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has  (a) evaluated and  (b) commissioned on methods of tackling the spread of bovine TB which do not involve culling badgers, including vaccination, in the last three years.

James Paice: DEFRA has a wide-ranging bovine TB research programme which includes:
	the development of a vaccine for bovine TB (for potential use either in cattle or badgers);
	developing improved diagnostic techniques (both for TB in cattle and badgers);
	epidemiological studies on factors influencing the prevalence and persistence of the disease in cattle and wildlife;
	investigating transmission routes between and within species;
	investigating risk factors contributing to the development of the disease in cattle, and;
	economic analyses of TB control strategies.
	A full list of current commissioned research projects can be found on the DEFRA website at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/current-research-projects.pdf
	A list of completed and evaluated research projects is available at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/research/projects.htm

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle the spread of bovine TB.

James Paice: DEFRA has continued to maintain a comprehensive and risk based TB surveillance programme through on farm testing of cattle and inspection of cattle carcases at slaughterhouses. To minimise the risk of disease spread, movement restrictions are applied (on cattle herds) as soon as a TB affected animal is identified or a TB test becomes overdue. We are also continuing to fund a wide ranging research programme, which includes developing vaccines, improving diagnostic tests and increasing our understanding on how TB spreads.
	The public consultation on 'The Government's approach to tackling the disease and consultation on a badger control policy' closed in December 2010. We received a large number of responses, which we are considering carefully. We plan to publish the Government's response alongside a balanced and comprehensive TB eradication programme for England in February 2011.

Flood Control

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on the food supply chain of the adequacy of existing flood defence provision.

Richard Benyon: It is a priority in the DEFRA business plan to help to enhance the resilience and competitiveness of the whole food chain, including farms and the fish industry, to ensure a secure, healthy and sustainable supply of food. Britain enjoys a high level of food security as a stable, developed trading nation with a very diverse supply base. We continually review potential risks to food security. Agricultural benefits are appropriately valued and reflected within flood and coastal erosion risk management appraisal and prioritisation systems.

Nappies: Waste Disposal

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to encourage the use of reusable nappies.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency report, "An updated lifecycle assessment study for disposable and reusable nappies (2006)", states that it is not clear whether disposable or reusable nappies are better for the environment. The report shows that the relative benefits for reusable nappies are largely driven by how they are laundered. The Government believe that parents should determine which type of nappy is most suitable for their own circumstances.

Public Footpaths

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with local authorities on steps to ensure that footpaths are kept open and accessible.

Richard Benyon: We have had no separate discussions with local highway authorities, who are responsible for the management of public rights of way including footpaths. It is for them to decide how to maintain the access network in their area.
	Authorities have a duty to assert and protect the rights of the public as to the use and enjoyment of public rights of way and the Government expects local highway authorities to meet their statutory duties and for local people to hold them to account.

Public Footpaths

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on proposals to ensure that footpaths are kept open and accessible; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: We regularly receive informal representations from stakeholders, local access forums and the general public on ensuring public rights of way including footpaths are kept open and accessible.

Recycling

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to encourage recycling;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to encourage waste prevention.

Richard Benyon: The Government are committed to improving the way in which we manage our waste and are currently conducting a fundamental review of waste policies. This is considering how best to ensure that we do more to prevent waste from occurring in the first place, and continue to increase recycling rates above and beyond the progress made to date. Preliminary findings from the review will be published in May.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which date the waste hierarchy in the revised Waste Framework Directive will apply in the UK.

Richard Benyon: The transposition and implementation of the revised Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) are devolved matters. I anticipate that regulations transposing the directive in England will be laid before Parliament later this month. I understand that it is also anticipated that transposing regulations will be laid separately before the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly later this month. In each case the date of implementation of the transposing regulations is dependent on the conclusion of the respective parliamentary processes.

Waste Management

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the relative  (a) financial and  (b) environment benefits of (i) waste prevention and (ii) recycling.

Richard Benyon: The financial and environmental benefits of waste prevention or recycling will be dependent on the individual waste stream under consideration, and the source of that waste. As a general principle, it is better both financially and environmentally to prevent waste from being produced rather than having to recycle or dispose of waste.
	We are able to calculate the gross environmental benefits of preventing waste for a range of materials. However, waste prevention covers a wide range of actions and measures. The costs of measures taken to prevent waste are highly variable, and so it is not appropriate to establish a single figure for the net economic benefit of waste prevention.
	The Waste and Resources Action programme (WRAP) is currently undertaking a project to quantify the environmental and economic impacts of reusing products. When completed in spring 2011, this, information can then be assessed against the environmental impact of recycling.
	Estimates exist of the relative merits of waste prevention and recycling for food waste. WRAP estimates that the greenhouse gas savings from food waste prevention are 10 times greater than composting or anaerobic digestion.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the minutes of each meeting of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in the last two years.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 January 2011
	It is for the advisory council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to determine how and when to publish the minutes of its meetings. I understand the minutes of meetings are published after they have been approved at the subsequent meeting. The minutes available for the last two years can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/acmd/council-meetings/

Crime: Overseas Companies

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require UK companies convicted of transnational financial crimes in UK courts to make restitution to the population of the country in which the crime was committed;
	(2)  if she will bring forward legislative proposals to provide that as a consequence of a conviction in a UK court of a UK company for an offence committed in another jurisdiction, restitution shall be made to the population of that country by the company convicted; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The UK can already share the proceeds of transnational financial crime with other countries without the need for further legislation. Asset sharing and repatriation following confiscation can be made administratively on a case by case basis guided, where relevant, by provision in international agreement. Article 14 of the UN convention against transnational organized crime and article 57 of the UN convention against corruption provide that confiscated money can be paid to other countries as compensation or restitution to the victims of such crimes. Where necessary, prosecutors and the courts can also explore alternative methods of transferring money if confiscation following conviction is not an option in any individual case.

Criminal Records Bureau

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether she plans to make changes to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) regime following the completion of the first phase of the CRB review;
	(2)  what her policy is on reducing the administrative burden in respect of criminal record checks by allowing employers to share Criminal Records Bureau information;
	(3)  when she expects the first phase of the Criminal Records Bureau review to be completed.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 22 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 77-78WS. This statement announced the terms of reference for the review of the Criminal Records Regime and the Vetting and Barring Scheme. The review is due to report early in 2011.
	The review will look at scaling back the use of systems involving criminal records to common sense levels and the Government will thoroughly consider the findings of the review before deciding what action to take.

DNA: Databases

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to issue guidance to chief constables on the use of their discretion to remove records from the DNA database for the purposes of ensuring consistency of practice.

James Brokenshire: The Government are committed to adopting the protections of the Scottish model for DNA retention. In particular, we are examining whether the provisions of section 23 of the Crime and Security Act 2010 should be brought into force. This would empower the National DNA Database Strategy Board to issue binding guidance to chief police officers on the types of case in which deletion would be appropriate.
	We will bring forward our detailed proposals shortly.

DNA: Databases

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to remove and destroy records associated with false or wrongly recorded names on the DNA database.

James Brokenshire: A number of procedures carried out by police forces, forensic suppliers and the National Policing Improvement Agency's (NPIA) National DNA Database (NDNAD) Delivery Unit are in place to ensure that information is recorded as accurately as possible on the NDNAD. These procedures are designed to ensure that, as far as possible, errors are not included on the database in the first place, rather than rectifying them once the profile has been loaded. The procedures include checking the identity of a person from whom a DNA sample is taken against an identity established through fingerprinting.
	If any irregular record comes to the notice of the NDNAD Delivery Unit, the record is suspended on the database pending an investigation. The outcome of which is that the record may be re-instated unchanged, amended or deleted.
	The NDNAD Data Reconciliation Team (DRT) has access to both the Police National Computer (PNC) and the NDNAD. The team carries out checks to ensure that details held on the two databases are properly reconciled and highlight sampling and administration errors that have led to a record being loaded to the NDNAD with incorrect demographic information (e.g. name, sex, date of birth).
	One area of the team's work is to routinely monitor newly-loaded profiles to identify two or more matching DNA profiles shown on different PNC records. The team liaises directly with police forces where replicates have been identified and supports them to resolve any issues. This allows the Police Service to merge and consolidate their information on the individuals who have previously provided incorrect information by updating the appropriate PNC records.

Domestic Violence: Finance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department allocated to  (a) tackling domestic violence and  (b) providing support to victims of domestic violence in each year since 2005.

Lynne Featherstone: Where funding is allocated to tackling domestic violence this includes support for victims:
	2005-06: over £5.5 million
	2006-07: over £3.8 million
	2007-08: over £5.85 million
	2008-09: over £5.4 million
	2009-10: over £6 million
	2010-11: over £6.9 million.
	For the financial years 2008-10 a proportion of the funding identified may have also covered sexual violence.

Human Trafficking

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the level of trafficking into the UK for the purposes of  (a) forced labour and  (b) domestic servitude.

Damian Green: There is no overall estimate of the level of trafficking for forced labour including domestic servitude.
	We are improving our understanding of the extent of labour trafficking through enforcement efforts, liaison with experts in this area and in part from the statistics arising from the National Referral Mechanism, which from 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2010 show a total of 200 referrals of potential victims of trafficking for forced labour and 147 for domestic servitude. Of these 42 people were identified as being victims of trafficking for forced labour and 16 as victims of trafficking for domestic servitude.

Human Trafficking: Sexual Offences

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the level of trafficking into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

Damian Green: The most recent estimate of the level of trafficking for sexual exploitation was produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on 18 August 2010.
	This estimate puts the figure of the number of migrant women trafficked to work in brothels and other premises in England and Wales at 2,600. A copy of the ACPO Report, "Setting the Record" can be found on their website at:
	http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/Data/Setting%20the% 20Record%20(Project%20ACUMEN)%20Aug%202010.pdf
	and I will place a copy in the Library.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring forward proposals to ban wheel-clamping by private operators; and if she will make a statement

Lynne Featherstone: We announced on 17 August 2010 the Government's intention to ban wheel-clamping and towing away on private land.
	Primary legislation will be needed to bring these changes into force. The Government plan to include this in the Rights and Freedoms Bill which will be introduced into Parliament shortly. We aim to bring the ban into force as soon as possible after the necessary legislation has been passed.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh: Politics and Government

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance with human rights, the rule of law and democratic processes in Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We regularly consider the level of compliance with human rights, the rule of law and democratic processes in Bangladesh. The UK wants to see a stable, prosperous and democratic Bangladesh with strong independent institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission, and a functioning Parliament at the centre of political debate where the focus is on policies for the people, not confrontation. The British Government raise concerns about human rights both bilaterally with the Bangladesh Government and through the EU. In addition to this, the British Government provide a range of human rights assistance to Bangladesh as part of its capacity building programmes. Such assistance is fully in line with the UK's laws and values. Respect for human rights is also integral to the UK's development programme in Bangladesh. This covers a range of areas including promotion of better governance, tackling extreme poverty and the challenges of climate change, and improving access to education, health care, and water and sanitation.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on recognition of the Palestinian Government in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: The international community, including the UK, recognised the results of the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. But Hamas' subsequent actions in using force to oust its political rivals were far from democratic. Hamas' ideology of violence also directly undermines prospects for peace in the region. The Quartet has set out clearly that Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. With our international partners, we will continue to call on Hamas to take immediate and concrete steps towards the Quartet principles and to release Gilad Shalit unconditionally.
	We will also to continue to call on all parties in the region including Hamas to refrain from any activity that could undermine the search for a just and lasting settlement.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carer's Allowance: Chatham

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Chatham and Aylesford constituency  (a) are in receipt of carer's allowance and  (b) were in receipt of carer's allowance in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: The number of people in receipt of carers allowance over the last five years.
	
		
			  Chatham and Aylesford parliamentary constituency( 1) 
			  As at May:  Number 
			 2010 1,060 
			 2009 940 
			 2008 870 
			 2007 810 
			 2006 800 
			 (1) Constituencies used for May 2010 are for the Westminster Parliament 2010. Prior to this, the constituencies used are for May 2005.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Caseloads for CA show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. These figures are published at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data

Employment and Support Allowance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills,  (b) Jobcentre Plus and  (c) Atos Healthcare in respect of his proposals to make contributory employment and support allowance payable for a maximum of one year; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: holding answer 20 December 2010
	The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, Jobcentre Plus or Atos Healthcare about proposals to time-limit contributory employment and support allowance.

Incapacity Benefit: Unpaid Work

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis is for his Department's guidance that unpaid work and incapacity benefit are not necessarily incompatible.

Maria Miller: People claiming incapacity benefit can undertake a range of activities, including certain unpaid work and continue to be entitled to benefit. These rules are known as "permitted work". The Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No 268 "Final outcomes from the Permitted Work Rules" published in 2005, provides evidence that permitted work can act as a stepping stone to return to work; this forms the basis of the Government's policy. This report can be found at:
	http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep268.pdf
	Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance (ESA) for new claimants in autumn 2008. The "permitted work" rules apply to employment and support allowance claimants in the same way as they do for incapacity benefit claimants.

Industrial Health and Safety

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the actions required to implement the recommendations of Lord Young's review of health and safety.

Chris Grayling: The Government have welcomed Lord Young's recommendations and is taking forward implementation on the basis of the timetable set out in his report. Actions for individual Departments or Agencies are included in business plans.
	The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is taking forward recommendations within its remit and is on track with delivery to Lord Young's timetable.

Sick Leave: Ankylosing Spondylitis

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent estimate of working  (a) years and  (b) days lost through sickness absence as a result of ankylosing spondylitis.

Maria Miller: There are no recent estimates of working years or days lost as a result of ankylosing spondylitis.

State Retirement Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the net effect on the state pension of a person of average income who reaches state retirement age in 2011 of the implementation of  (a) the triple guarantee and  (b) proposed changes in uprating in respect of the second state pension.

Steve Webb: The net effect of the above policies on a person with an average state pension entitlement reaching state pension age in 2011 is estimated to be a lifetime gain of around £10,000, in net present value terms.
	 Notes:
	1. The calculation is based on projected median state pension entitlement for individuals reaching state pension age in the 2011-12 tax year. This includes basic state pension entitlement, plus additional state pension entitlement, assuming no deductions due to periods spent in contracted-out employment.
	2. The calculation excludes entitlement deriving from a former spouse's or partner's contributions, and assumes the individual does not defer claiming their state pension. Entitlement to graduated retirement benefit is not included.
	3. The net present value figure is the net gain in terms of state pension entitlement.
	4. The figure is rounded to the nearest £1,000.
	5. The estimate assumes a length of retirement of 25 years.

Unemployment People: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed people there were in Harlow constituency in each year since 2000.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the number of unemployed people was in Harlow constituency in each year from 2000 to 2010. (032291)
	The Harlow parliamentary constituency changed to new boundaries at the 2010 general election. Figures for the current Harlow parliamentary constituency are only available from 2004.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Unfortunately the sample size does not support analyses of unemployment for the Harlow constituency.
	As an alternative, in Table 1, we have provided the number of persons resident in Harlow parliamentary constituency claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for November of each year from 2004 to 2010.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons claiming jobseeker's allowance resident in Harlow parliamentary constituency 
			  November  Number 
			 2004 1,052 
			 2005 1,278 
			 2006 1,503 
			 2007 1,401 
			 2008 1,776 
			 2009 2,633 
			 2010 2,398 
			  Source:  Jobcentre Plus administrative system.

Welfare Tax Credits

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in receipt of  (a) working tax credit only,  (b) child tax credit only and  (c) both working tax credit and child tax credit who do not receive housing benefit or council tax benefit.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	Data from the Department for Work and Pensions' Family Resources Survey 2008-09 suggests that, of families in receipt of tax credits but not housing benefit or council tax benefit:
	 (a) 0.2 million families received the working tax credit only;
	 (b) 2.1 million families received the child tax credit only;
	 (c) 1.3 million families received both the working tax credit and the child tax credit.
	The Family Resources Survey 2008-09 publication notes that:
	"The FRS under-reports receipt for most (...) benefits".
	This publication is freely available on the DWP website.

Work Capability Assessment Independent Review

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that all relevant recommendations of the Harrington Review of work capability assessments are implemented before the commencement of the assessments and the migration of those on income support to employment and support allowance.

Maria Miller: We believe that the overall principles of the work capability assessment (WCA) are right, but that the specific system which we inherited developed by the previous Government contained flaws that risked undermining its effectiveness. We have therefore moved swiftly to put those right.
	We welcome the first independent review of the WCA, led by Professor Malcolm Harrington. This was a thorough review that considered a substantial amount of evidence. Based on those fundings, Professor Harrington has come forward with a wide range of far reaching and challenging proposals which the Government fully supports.
	We are committed to taking forward all of the review's recommendations so that we can make the WCA system fairer and more effective. The Government response to Professor Harrington's review sets out how and when we will implement the recommendations of the review, the majority of which will be in place in time for the national roll-out of the incapacity benefits reassessment programme.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Banks

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effects of banking regulation on its proposals to create an Enterprise Zone in Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The subject of banking regulation in Northern Ireland has been discussed on a number of occasions between relevant Whitehall Departments. Discussions on the Enterprise Zone proposals are ongoing between HM Government and the Northern Ireland Executive and we intend to consult publicly on the proposals in the near future.

Departmental Press Releases

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions his Department has provided embargoed media briefings prior to an oral statement to the House since 26 May 2010; in respect of how many such briefings his Department was informed that the embargo had been breached; what steps were taken as a result of each such breach; and on how many occasions his Department has provided media briefings without an embargo prior to an oral statement to the House since 26 May 2010.

Hugo Swire: There has been one oral statement since 26 May by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. That statement was on 14 September on the publication of the Report by the Billy Wright Inquiry.
	The Prime Minister made a statement on 15 June in relation to the publication of the Bloody Sunday Report.
	On both occasions with the agreement of the Speaker and under strictly controlled conditions, accredited media representatives were allowed advance sight of the reports one hour before the oral statements.
	On neither occasion was the embargo breached.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2010,  Official Report, column 11W, on energy, if he will take steps through bilateral discussions to encourage his G20 counterparts to implement national commitments to reduce fossil fuel subsidies.

Charles Hendry: We will continue to look for opportunities in bilateral contacts with G20 members to support them in their implementation of their national plans for reducing and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

Energy: Prices

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposed increase in electricity prices attributable to his proposals for electricity market reform with statutory equality duties on the Government.

Charles Hendry: As set out in the impact assessment accompanying the Government's consultation on Electricity Market Reform:
	www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/emr/emr.aspx
	it is not envisaged that the reform options will impact measures of equality detailed in the Statutory Equality Duties Guidance. Although the distributional analysis shows that the reforms will have a different impact on different income groups-on account of their different levels of income, expenditure and electricity consumption-it is not envisaged that they will directly affect individuals differently on account of their protected characteristics. Specifically, the options would not have different direct impacts on people of different age, disability, gender, gender-reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.

Energy: Prices

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average change in electricity bills attributable to his proposal for reform of the energy market in each of the next five years.

Charles Hendry: On 16 December 2010, Government launched consultations on a package of options for electricity market reform:
	www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/emr/emr.aspx
	The preferred package is to have a feed-in-tariff with a 'contract for difference' model for supporting low-carbon generation in combination with a targeted capacity mechanism, carbon price support and an emissions performance standard. The following tables show the impact on electricity bills for domestic and non-domestic consumers of this preferred package, over the next five years, compared to estimated 'baseline' bills absent the reforms (but including existing policies).
	Although the proposed reforms may cause a small increase in electricity bills in the short term, by 2030 electricity bills are expected to be lower than they otherwise would be (in the absence of the reforms).
	Both the baseline electricity bill estimates and those including electricity market reform, shown in the following tables, include savings in average household electricity consumption as a result of a range of policies to improve energy efficiency the Government has in place, which help lessen the overall bill impact.
	
		
			   Baseline average domestic electricity bill (£)  Estimated average domestic electricity bill including electricity market reform (£)  Estimated impact on average  domestic electricity  bill of electricity market reform (£) 
			 2010 493 493 0 (0%) 
			 2011 480 480 0 (0%) 
			 2012 481 481 0 (0%) 
			 2013 469 471 2 (0%) 
			 2014 476 482 6 (1%) 
			 2015 476 486 9 (2%) 
		
	
	
		
			   Baseline average non-domestic electricity bill (£)  Estimated average non-domestic electricity bill including electricity market reform (£)  Estimated impact on average non-domestic electricity bill of electricity market reform (£) 
			 2010 918,000 918,000 0 (0%) 
			 2011 928,000 928,000 0 (0%) 
			 2012 928,000 928,000 0 (0%) 
			 2013 945,000 950,000 6,000 (1%) 
			 2014 958,000 974,000 15,000 (2%) 
			 2015 981,000 1,007,000 26,000 (3%)

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will assess the merits of including provisions in the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill to establish a legally binding minimum energy efficiency standard for private rented homes by 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal will offer a range of innovative finance packages allowing landlords to install energy efficiency measures in their rental properties at no upfront cost to themselves.
	There are no current plans to introduce a legally binding minimum energy efficiency standard for private rented homes. However, we are seeking powers in the Energy Bill that would require landlords to make reasonable energy efficiency improvements to the least energy efficient properties from 2015. These powers will only be used if the sector does not make voluntary improvements under the forthcoming Green Deal.

Fossil Fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has discussed with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs the role of his Department in promoting fossil fuel subsidy reform in emerging economies through the UK's diplomatic network.

Charles Hendry: Officials from both the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are working with posts in emerging economies to encourage reform of fossil fuel subsidies.

Fuel: Poverty

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the number of people expected to be in fuel poverty in each year to 2016.

Gregory Barker: The latest fuel poverty estimates are for 2008 and show that there were 3.3 million households in fuel poverty in England in that year.
	DECC has projected the level of fuel poverty in England for 2009 and 2010 given known changes in the prices of energy and estimated changes in household incomes. In 2009, due to increasing energy prices in this period, the level of fuel poverty in England is predicted to be around 4.1 million households, falling slightly to 4.0 million households in 2010.
	DECC currently has made no projections on the number of households expected to be in fuel poverty in the years 2011 to 2016 as these would require knowledge of future changes in incomes and energy prices.

Heating Oil Suppliers

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment his Department has made of the pricing strategies of heating oil suppliers.

Charles Hendry: We continue to monitor trends in the price of heating oil and other fuels. The UK has open and competitive markets for heating oil and other petroleum products. The Office of Fair Trading continues to consider all complaints and representations carefully and is monitoring for any indications that consumer or competition legislation has been breached.

Natural Gas: Storage

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will implement incentives to encourage the storage of gas for the purpose of energy security in the winter of 2010-11.

Charles Hendry: The United Kingdom relies on a well defined, independently regulated, competitive market to deliver the necessary energy infrastructure and competitive sources of energy. Market participants, rather than Government, are best placed to assess the complex range of factors affecting the profitability of storing and providing gas; and how these might evolve over time.
	There are already sharp incentives on gas shippers to balance their positions across each day of this winter. The market has been working effectively to deliver sufficient supplies of gas to meet the country's needs. It has responded well, bringing forward sufficient supplies even in response to near record levels of demand during the cold spells earlier this winter. However, the Government are not complacent, and are seeking to refine the market framework through the measures contained in the Energy Bill 2010-11. A provision in the Bill will further improve gas security of supply by giving Ofgem a new power to amend the gas market's Uniform Network Code to sharpen commercial incentives on gas market participants to meet their contractual supply obligations and reduce the duration, likelihood or severity of a gas supply emergency. This will help underpin commercial demand for additional gas supply infrastructure such as storage and import facilities, as well as long-term contracts. Ofgem is now launching a "Significant Code Review" exercise to enhance gas market arrangements and believes that there is a reasonable prospect that the new power would enable it to implement these by the end of 2011.
	Against that background the government has no plans to introduce further incentives to encourage the storage of gas over the course of winter 2010-11.

Solar Energy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 16 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 1030-31, on community energy schemes, what steps he is taking in respect of photovoltaic solar energy farms.

Gregory Barker: The coalition Government are committed to the full implementation of FITs and wants to see an ambitious roll out of the widest possible range of domestic and community scale renewables, including solar PV.
	We have therefore expressed concerns that the scheme we inherited leaves open the prospect of large, industrial-scale, greenfield based solar farms distorting the available funding for roof top and other innovative solar technologies, as well as other microgeneration technologies that also qualify for FITs.
	We do not want to see such projects soaking up the money that would otherwise go to homes, small businesses and communities. We are monitoring the situation closely and, while we will not act retrospectively, we stand ready to take measures to limit the access of such schemes to FITs if necessary.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Banks: Pay

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the British Bankers' Association on bank bonuses in the current year; and what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of such bonuses between 2009 and 2010.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
	Bonuses paid in 2011 will be subject to the revised Financial Services Authority (FSA) Remuneration Code. This includes provisions on deferral, payment in shares and other non-cash instruments and performance linkage and clawback arrangements. Significant risk takers and other high earning employees in this industry will not receive all their bonuses in cash whilst leaving their shareholders, and potentially the taxpayer, exposed to the long term risks they take. These reforms will ensure that when a bank underperforms, it is reflected in the remuneration paid.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which body is responsible for ensuring that speeds delivered by broadband providers meet advertised speeds.

Edward Vaizey: In the first instance, the Advertising Standards Authority is the body with formal responsibility for making sure that companies comply with the rules that ensure that consumers are not misled by advertising-including those that specify broadband speeds.
	Ofcom, the independent regulator of the UK's telecoms industry, has strengthened the Voluntary Code of Practice on Broadband Speeds ("the Code") which it introduced in 2008. ISPs who sign up to the revised code commit to give consumers a more accurate and consistent estimate of the maximum speed likely to be achievable on their line.

Farepak

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will undertake an assessment of debt levels and financial hardship caused by the closure of Farepak.

Edward Davey: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to undertake an assessment of debt levels and financial hardship caused by the collapse of Farepak.

Farepak

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will undertake an assessment of the implications for future consumer regulation of the closure of Farepak.

Edward Davey: The Government believe that effective protection has been put in place since the collapse of Farepak to protect the remaining Christmas saving clubs' customers' prepayments as far as it is practicable to do so.

Intellectual Property and Growth Review

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what areas he expects the panel of experts for the Intellectual Property and Growth Review to advise.

Edward Davey: The members of the independent panel which will advise Professor Ian Hargreaves have been selected in order to equip the review with a range of relevant expertise, including in business, innovation, economics and aspects of intellectual property, and they will provide advice accordingly.

Ofcom: Manpower

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of Ofcom employees had a qualification in an engineering or science subject in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Edward Vaizey: The matter raised is an operational issue relating to the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than to Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ofcom: Text Relay Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment his Department has made of the research on text relay services carried out for Ofcom by Opinion Leader Research.

Edward Vaizey: BIS have not been involved in the commission, financing or evaluation of this research.
	All research that Ofcom commissions is closely managed and continually evaluated by its own research team. The Opinion Leader research on relay services has been subject to the same scrutiny and will be subject to further scrutiny and assessment in Ofcom's forthcoming consultation document on relay services.

Phonographic Performance Limited: Voluntary Sector

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the likely cost to the voluntary and charitable sector of the application to them of the  (a) Phonographic Performance Limited licence and  (b) Performing Rights Society licence.

Edward Davey: The impact assessment conducted by the previous Government estimated the average annual cost to charities and not-for-profit organisations of the repeal of the current exemptions contained in s. 67 and 72(1B)(a) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be £18.7 million per year for the purchasing of Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) licences. Full details of the impact assessment were published and are available here:
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/govresponse-musiclicensing.pdf
	The impact assessment figure of £18.7 million was based on an estimated flat fee of £81 per annum for each music user. However, following negotiations between PPL and the relevant sector, the majority of community buildings/village halls will pay £40 per annum and the vast majority of charity shops will pay the lower rate £54 per annum-this includes both the shop and back office.
	Following discussions with this Government, PPL has also agreed to give a year's grace and will not begin charging charities until 1 January 2012.
	These changes do not affect the existing licensing arrangements with regard to the Performing Rights Society Licence.

Students: Fees and Charges

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the likely effects on students in Poplar and Limehouse constituency of the implementation of proposed changes to the entitlement to free tuition for those on non-active benefits; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 20 December 2010
	The Department and the Skills Funding Agency monitor the impact of adult skills policies on an ongoing basis.
	8,000 adults in the Poplar and Limehouse constituency participated in training in 2009/10. Of those, 450 indicated that they were primarily eligible for full fee remission as they were in receipt of job seekers allowance.
	Skills interventions will be a key part of the Jobcentre Plus offer to claimants. For those who are unemployed and in receipt of jobseekers' allowance and employment support allowance (Work Related Activity Group), full-funding will still be available for full qualifications and from August 2011 for units from the QCF, for training to help them enter employment.
	In the academic year 2011/12, all adults will be able to get their first level 2 qualification fully funded and those aged 19 to 25 will in addition be able to get their first full level 3 qualification fully funded. From 2012/13 the entitlement will change to full funding for first qualifications at levels 2 and 3 for people aged 19 up to 24-years-old only.
	Adults of any age will still be eligible for fully-funded tuition in basic literacy and numeracy irrespective of whether or not they are on benefits.

Telecommunications: Hearing Impairment

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the provision of telecommunications services for British Sign Language users; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 20 December 2010
	The Department for Business strives to ensure the best provisions for deaf, hard of hearing and British Sign Language (BSL) users.
	The Department is currently implementing revisions to the European Electronic Communications Framework, including a new requirement on equivalence in access and choice for disabled end-users. This provision requires member states to empower national regulators to specify requirements to be met by electronic communications network and service providers, and also requires member states to encourage the availability of terminal equipment offering "the necessary services and functions".
	The UK currently has a text relay service and access to the emergency services as mandated in the Framework.

JUSTICE

Local Probation Trusts

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the future commissioning of community punishment will include a central role for local probation trusts.

Crispin Blunt: We are following the policy announced by the previous Government in April 2009 and are preparing a detailed commissioning strategy, which will involve putting all community payback services out to tender in a series of mini-competitions, phased over a period of time. Probation trusts will be able to compete to provide those services.

Former Prisoners: Support

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on measures to support former prisoners after their release.

Crispin Blunt: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) is in discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) on a range of issues relating to resettlement support for former prisoners. In particular, we are jointly taking forward plans to incentivise DWP Work programme providers to give employment support to unemployed offenders, with the providers paid for their success in getting people into work.

Burglary Offences: Custodial Sentences

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people convicted of burglary offences were given custodial sentences in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: In 2009, 54% of offenders sentenced for burglary were given an immediate or suspended custodial sentence.

Educational Opportunities: Prisoners

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to increase educational opportunities for prisoners.

Crispin Blunt: Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills the Ministry of Justice have undertaken a review of offender learning. We expect this to tell us how best to provide learning opportunities and maximise the number of prisoners taking part. We will report shortly.

Arrest Warrants

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Attorney-General on the resources available to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the implementation of the Secretary of State's proposals relating to arrest warrants for offences under universal jurisdiction.

Crispin Blunt: No such discussions have taken place. Any credible allegations relating to universal jurisdiction offences would continue to be accorded the highest priority, and there is no reason to doubt the capacity of the Crown Prosecution Service to deal with them.

Drug Dependency: Prisoners

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of drug dependency in prisons.

Nick Herbert: Our proposals on rehabilitation, which include a focus on recovery from drug dependency, were published in a Green Paper on rehabilitation and sentencing in December 2010. These include:
	ensuring sentencing helps offenders to come off drugs;
	piloting drug recovery wings;
	supporting the Department of Health in developing payment-by-results drug recovery pilots; and
	reducing the availability of drugs in prison.

Human Trafficking: Accommodation

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department plans to provide in grants to support the provision of accommodation to adult victims of human trafficking in each of the seven largest cities in England.

Jonathan Djanogly: Adults trafficked in England and Wales can access specialist support and accommodation through the National Referral Mechanism, a multi-agency framework for identifying victims of trafficking and referring them to support services.
	It is not possible to ascertain the precise level of funding that a particular area will receive to support the provision of accommodation for adult victims of trafficking, as the Government fund such specialist support through a national model rather than through the allocation of funding to local areas.
	As part of a wider strategy to combat human trafficking, the Government are in the process of introducing a new model for funding specialist support for adult victims of trafficking in England and Wales. Provision will continue to be funded through a centralised commissioning model, but with a prime contractor allocating and co-ordinating support. A tender exercise to select the prime contractor commenced on 15 December 2010. The value of the contract will only be known once the procurement process has concluded but it is expected to be within a range of £1 million to £2 million per annum.

New Prisons: CSR

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many proposals for the construction of new prisons have been withdrawn as a result of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Crispin Blunt: Plans to build a prison in Maghull, Merseyside will not go ahead, while proposals to build a prison in Runwell, Essex have been deferred for the spending review period.

Community Orders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people currently serving community sentences are deemed to be high risk by the Probation Service; and how many people serving community sentences have been deemed to be high risk by the Probation Service in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: Data on how many offenders currently serving community sentences have been assessed as high/very high risk of serious harm are not held centrally. Data for the financial year 2010-11 will be available in the summer. Figures for the last three financial years are available and are set out in the following table. The table presents, for each financial year, the number of offenders subject to a community order or suspended sentence order (Criminal Justice Act 2003) who have been assessed as presenting a high or very risk high risk of serious harm. The assessment of risk of serious harm is made through the Offender Assessment System (OASys). The data are drawn from administrative IT systems and are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale assessment and recording system.
	
		
			High/very high risk of serious harm (community) 
			  Financial year  Number of assessments  Number  Percentage 
			 2007-08 139,826 5,814 4.2 
			 2008-09 189,457 6,660 3.5 
			 2009-10 173,743 6,438 3.7

Community Orders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the highest number of breaches of a community sentence recorded in respect of an individual was in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many people have breached community sentences in each of the last three years; and how many community sentences have been breached in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on breaches of community sentences by individual offenders is recorded by probation trusts on their case management systems. It is used in the day-to-day management of offenders, including as a trigger to appropriate action in response to breach, for example through formal warnings or enforcement action, but the figures requested do not form part of trusts' routine reporting. Therefore to produce the figures requested would entail asking the 35 probation trusts to interrogate the case record of each offender supervised in the past three years and provide a report to the centre on the number of offenders with a breach recorded, the total number of breaches that have occurred in each case and the highest recorded against an individual.
	However, data are available on the reasons for termination of community orders and suspended sentence orders. These reasons include early termination for failure to comply with requirements or for conviction of a further offence. Figures for the years 2006 to 2009 are shown at Table 5.1 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009, published on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/omcs-2009-complete-210710a.pdf
	It should be noted that not all breaches of community sentences will result in early termination. In line with National Standards for the Management of Offenders 2007 an offender who fails to comply with the terms of his or her supervision in the community may be given one formal warning in any 12 month period on an order (and no more than two warnings within a 12 month period while on post-release licence) before breach or recall action becomes required. Furthermore, although the court which hears an allegation of breach relating to a community order may decide to revoke the order and replace it with an alternative community or custodial sentence, it may on the other hand decide that the order should continue with more onerous requirements.
	In the recent Green Paper "Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders"(1) the Government stated that it is unacceptable that a quarter of offenders on community orders or on licence do not complete the sentence due to breaking the conditions of that order or licence. The Green Paper sets out in further detail our proposals for making community sentences more robust, rigorous and effective.
	(1) http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/docs/breaking-the-cycle.pdf

Driving Offences: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many residents of the London borough of Bexley were convicted of a motoring offence in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons found guilty of motoring offences at all courts in the Metropolitan police force area for the years 2007 to 2009 (latest available) are shown in the following table. Data available centrally do not identify the place of residence of those convicted of an offence.
	Court proceedings data are not available at local government authority area level. Therefore, data for the Metropolitan police force area have been provided in lieu.
	Data for 2010 are planned for publication in the spring of 2011.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty of motoring offences at all courts, Metropolitan police force area 2007 - 09( 1, 2) 
			  Offence group  2007  2008  2009 
			 Motoring offences (indictable and summary offences) 64,031 71,749 77,316 
			 (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals equivalent to those for public bodies under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 to cover  (a) water utility companies and  (b) other private companies; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon) on 21 December 2010,  Official Report, columns. 1339-40W.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projects his Department is operating with organisations in the charity sector to provide rehabilitation for offenders and former offenders.

Crispin Blunt: According to our records, there are over 200 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations engaged with NOMS, in either custody or community, working with prisons and/or probation trusts to meet a range of offender needs. It is not currently possible to list the full range of interventions delivered, either wholly or in part, by these voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations. This information is not stored centrally, and would require very large scale data retrieval from NOMS headquarters, prisons and probation trusts.

Prison Sentences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010 to question 31730, on sentencing, how many offenders in each category received a custodial sentence.

Crispin Blunt: Tables 1-5 show figures for sentences given for indictable offences to offenders with 16 or more previous convictions or cautions, who received an immediate custodial sentence, by category of offence and gender. Tables 6-10 show figures for sentences given for indictable offences to offenders with 16 or more previous convictions or cautions, who received an immediate custodial sentence, by category of offence and ethnicity. These figures are derived from table 6.2 of "Sentencing Statistics: England and Wales 2009" which was published on 21 October 2010.
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. The ethnicity information recorded on the PNC reflects the police officer's view of the offender's ethnicity.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offenders with 16-25 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and gender, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  England and Wales  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Violence against the person 2,604 155 2,760 148 2,679 162 
			 Sexual offences 190 1 180 - 163 1 
			 Burglary 2,957 75 3,285 90 3,048 82 
			 Robbery 692 34 747 49 858 44 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,529 873 5,986 1,053 5,206 887 
			 Fraud and forgery 225 29 253 32 264 43 
			 Criminal damage 202 8 227 11 206 12 
			 Drug offences 1,139 101 1,325 103 1,215 76 
			 Indictable motoring offences 301 3 294 1 212 - 
			 Other indictable offences 1,535 92 1,585 108 1,421 88 
			 Total 15,374 1,371 16,642 1,595 15,272 1,395 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offenders with 26-50 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and gender, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  England and Wales  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Violence against the person 1,312 96 1,593 131 1,728 117 
			 Sexual offences 69 1 74 - 73 1 
			 Burglary 1,851 38 2,208 37 2,173 36 
			 Robbery 253 19 317 20 347 27 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,131 761 6,134 911 5,772 806 
			 Fraud and forgery 152 22 164 20 164 17 
			 Criminal damage 98 5 117 9 110 3 
			 Drug offences 599 29 743 50 723 49 
			 Indictable motoring offences 117 2 116 3 119 3 
			 Other indictable offences 784 55 909 56 855 32 
			 Total 10,366 1,028 12,375 1,237 12,064 1,091 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of offenders with 51-75 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and gender, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  England and Wales  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Violence against the person 226 25 267 23 243 33 
			 Sexual offences 7 - 4 - 8 - 
			 Burglary 97 2 146 3 133 3 
			 Robbery 11 2 9 1 14 3 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 710 87 863 112 1,000 132 
			 Fraud and forgery 16 5 24 1 19 - 
			 Criminal damage 7 1 9 2 6 1 
			 Drug offences 21 6 38 2 42 2 
			 Indictable motoring offences 8 1 6 - 2 - 
			 Other indictable offences 71 3 71 5 82 6 
			 Total 1,174 132 1,437 149 1,549 180 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of offenders with 76-100 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and gender, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  England and Wales  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Violence against the person 94 8 110 15 108 9 
			 Sexual offences 2 - - - 2 1 
			 Burglary 10 - 14 2 20 1 
			 Robbery 1 - 1 1 - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 132 18 176 21 182 11 
			 Fraud and forgery 3 1 11 - 5 - 
			 Criminal damage - 1 3 - 3 - 
			 Drug offences 5 1 4 1 4 1 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 10 4 15 5 14 1 
			 Total 257 33 334 45 338 24 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: Number of offenders with 101 or more previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and gender, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			  England and Wales  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 Violence against the person 77 8 103 14 127 21 
			 Sexual offences 3 - 2 - 1 - 
			 Burglary 8 - 9 - 10 2 
			 Robbery 1 1 - - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 91 9 128 15 155 16 
			 Fraud and forgery 3 4 3 1 4 2 
			 Criminal damage 9 1 7 - 4 - 
			 Drug offences - 1 3 1 2 2 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 11 8 17 1 15 1 
			 Total 203 32 272 32 318 44 
			  Note: These figures do not include those with an unknown gender. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 6: Number of offenders with 16-25 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and ethnicity, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 2,451 231 59 5 13 2,533 263 73 13 26 
			 Sexual offences 168 19 1 - 3 154 16 6 1 3 
			 Burglary 2,764 213 31 5 19 3,031 256 55 14 19 
			 Robbery 608 92 22 1 3 670 101 17 2 6 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,684 471 199 19 29 6,261 494 222 24 38 
			 Fraud and forgery 206 32 13 1 2 240 24 21 - - 
			 Criminal damage 199 8 1 - 2 227 8 3 1 - 
			 Drug offences 1,046 136 41 8 9 1,181 162 72 8 5 
			 Indictable motoring offences 260 29 11 - 4 271 19 4 1 - 
			 Other indictable offences 1,475 107 37 3 5 1,492 139 44 10 8 
			 Total 14,861 1,338 415 42 89 16,060 1,482 517 74 105 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offenders 
			   2009 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 2,505 252 61 4 19 
			 Sexual offences 140 16 6 2 - 
			 Burglary 2,840 227 46 6 11 
			 Robbery 767 99 29 1 6 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,358 465 210 19 41 
			 Fraud and forgery 238 40 24 5 - 
			 Criminal damage 202 15 1 - - 
			 Drug offences 1,052 152 73 4 10 
			 Indictable motoring offences 181 15 16 - - 
			 Other indictable offences 1,325 126 47 3 8 
			 Total 14,608 1,407 513 44 95 
		
	
	
		
			  Table  7: Number of offenders with 26- 50 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and ethnicity, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 1,270 102 23 4 9 1,539 140 25 3 17 
			 Sexual offences 66 2 1 - 1 64 7 1 - 2 
			 Burglary 1,732 131 17 2 7 2,057 155 19 5 9 
			 Robbery 238 26 4 1 3 290 40 6 - 1 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,268 501 85 14 24 6,333 541 117 20 34 
			 Fraud and forgery 152 19 1 1 1 168 13 2 1 - 
			 Criminal damage 96 5 2 - - 120 3 1 - 2 
			 Drug offences 557 56 9 2 4 710 68 9 1 5 
			 Indictable motoring offences 109 6 3 - 1 108 7 2 1 1 
			 Other indictable offences 764 59 9 3 4 869 79 13 - 4 
			 Total 10,252 907 154 27 54 12,258 1,053 195 31 75 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offenders 
			   2009 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 1,654 143 30 6 12 
			 Sexual offences 63 10 1 - - 
			 Burglary 2,021 160 17 3 8 
			 Robbery 340 28 3 1 2 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 5,943 486 109 17 23 
			 Fraud and forgery 160 17 3 - 1 
			 Criminal damage 107 4 1 1 - 
			 Drug offences 688 59 18 3 4 
			 Indictable motoring offences 111 9 2 - - 
			 Other indictable offences 807 53 19 - 8 
			 Total 11,894 969 203 31 58 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 8: Number of offenders with 51-75 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and ethnicity, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 217 33 - - 1 263 24 2 1 - 
			 Sexual offences 7 - - - - 2 - 1 - 1 
			 Burglary 93 5 - 1 - 141 7 - - 1 
			 Robbery 11 2 - - - 9 1 - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 713 71 10 2 1 866 95 12 1 1 
			 Fraud and forgery 10 6 4 1 - 25 - - - - 
			 Criminal damage 8 - - - - 11 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 22 5 - - - 36 2 - - 2 
			 Indictable motoring offences 9 - - - - 5 1 - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 68 6 - - - 68 6 1 - 1 
			 Total 1,158 128 14 4 2 1,426 136 16 2 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2009 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 251 21 1 2 1 
			 Sexual offences 7 1 - - - 
			 Burglary 121 14 1 - - 
			 Robbery 14 3 - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 1,052 61 12 3 4 
			 Fraud and forgery 18 1 - - - 
			 Criminal damage 7 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 37 4 1 - 2 
			 Indictable motoring offences 2 - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 78 7 2 1 - 
			 Total 1,587 112 17 6 7 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 9: Number of offenders with 76-100 previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and ethnicity, 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 99 3 - - - 122 3 - - - 
			 Sexual offences 2 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Burglary 9 1 - - - 15 1 - - - 
			 Robbery 1 - - - - 2 - - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 144 6 - - - 184 12 - 1 - 
			 Fraud and forgery 3 1 - - - 5 6 - - - 
			 Criminal damage 1 - - - - 3 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 4 2 - - - 5 - - - - 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 12 1 - - 1 19 - - - 1 
			 Total 275 14 0 0 1 355 22 0 1 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offenders 
			   2009 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 113 4 - - - 
			 Sexual offences 3 - - - - 
			 Burglary 19 2 - - - 
			 Robbery - - - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 176 14 - 3 - 
			 Fraud and forgery 5 - - - - 
			 Criminal damage 3 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 5 - - - - 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 15 - - - - 
			 Total 339 20 0 3 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 10: Number of offenders with 101 or more previous convictions or cautions who received an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category and ethnicity 2007 - 09 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 78 4 - - 3 108 1 1 - 7 
			 Sexual offences 3 - - - - 2 - - - - 
			 Burglary 7 - 1 - - 8 - 1 - - 
			 Robbery 2 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 98 - - - 2 140 2 - - 1 
			 Fraud and forgery 6 - 1 - - 4 - - - - 
			 Criminal damage 10 - - - - 7 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 1 - - - - 2 2 - - - 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 19 - - - - 16 1 - - 1 
			 Total 224 4 2 0 5 287 6 2 0 9 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offenders 
			   2009 
			  England and Wales  White  Black  Asian  Other  Not recorded 
			 Violence against the person 139 8 - - 1 
			 Sexual offences 1 - - - - 
			 Burglary 11 1 - - - 
			 Robbery - - - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 166 2 - - 3 
			 Fraud and forgery 5 1 - - - 
			 Criminal damage 4 - - - - 
			 Drug offences 3 1 - - - 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 16 - - - - 
			 Total 345 13 0 0 4

Prison Sentences

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners convicted of each category of offence received a custodial sentence of  (a) four years or more and  (b) less than four years in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The tables show information on custodial sentences in prison establishments in England and Wales by sentence length band and offence category as of June each year from 2006 to 2009 and at 30 September 2010.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Immediate custodial sentenced population in prison establishments by sentence length and offence category, 2006 - 10 
			  Number of persons 
			  England and Wales 30 September 2010 
			   All  Less than four years  Four years or more (excluding indeterminate)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 65,957 28,770 23,916 13,271 
			  
			 Violence against the person 18,667 5,951 4,663 8,053 
			 Sexual offences 8,697 1,742 4,665 2,290 
			 Robbery 7,856 2,484 3,714 1,658 
			 Burglary 6,113 4,144 1,846 123 
			 Theft and handling 3,969 3,484 448 37 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,498 1,060 428 10 
			 Drug offences 10,556 4,306 6,221 29 
			 Motoring offences 902 835 49 18 
			 Other offences 7,119 4,392 1,737 990 
			 Offence not recorded 580 372 145 63 
			  Notes: 1. The figures for September 2010 are based on a new data source and includes data on recall prison population; 2. Recalls are not banded by sentence length, so figures above exclude prisoners who have been recalled to prison. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			  England and Wales 30 June 2009 
			   All  Less than four years  Four years or more (excluding indeterminate)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 68,375 31,357 24,497 12,521 
			  
			 Violence against the person 19,946 6,979 5,086 7,882 
			 Sexual offences 7,972 1,283 4,637 2,052 
			 Robbery 9,049 3,269 4,186 1,595 
			 Burglary 7,884 5,585 2,153 146 
			 Theft and handling 3,382 3,059 303 20 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,875 1,466 405 4 
			 Drug offences 10,696 4,305 6,377 14 
			 Motoring offences 1,149 1,097 48 3 
			 Other offences 6,117 4,118 1,247 752 
			 Offence not recorded 304 197 54 53 
			  Note: Data taken from Table 7.4 Offender Management Caseload Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			  England and Wales 30 June 2008 
			   All  Less than four years  Four years or more (excluding indeterminate)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 68,124 32,371 24,371 11,382 
			  
			 Violence against the person 18,930 6,844 4,865 7,221 
			 Sexual offences 7,616 1,366 4,426 1,824 
			 Robbery 8,733 3,088 4,186 1,459 
			 Burglary 7,935 5,625 2,184 127 
			 Theft and handling 3,836 3,502 314 20 
			 Fraud and forgery 2,020 1,641 374 5 
			 Drug offences 10,982 4,313 6,657 12 
			 Motoring offences 1,377 1,320 51 6 
			 Other offences 6,439 4,495 1,255 689 
			 Offence not recorded 256 175 60 21 
			  Note: Data taken from Table 7.4 Offender Management Caseload Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			  England and Wales 30 June 2007 
			   All  Less than four years  Four years or more (excluding indeterminate)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 65,533 30,466 25,586 9,481 
			  
			 Violence against the person 17,616 6,251 5,036 6,329 
			 Sexual offences 7,336 1,449 4,484 1,401 
			 Robbery 8,747 3,087 4,595 1,065 
			 Burglary 7,920 5,448 2,380 92 
			 Theft and handling 3,706 3,326 365 14 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,738 1,358 378 3 
			 Drug offences 10,613 3,719 6,887 8 
			 Motoring offences 1,484 1,430 48 6 
			 Other offences 5,991 4,173 1,302 516 
			 Offence not recorded 383 225 111 47 
			  Note: Data taken from Table 7.4 Offender Management Caseload Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			  England and Wales 30 June 2006 
			   All  Less than four years  Four years or more (excluding indeterminate)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 63,404 30,104 26,027 7,274 
			  
			 Violence against the person 16,215 5,880 4,958 5,377 
			 Sexual offences 6,598 1,392 4,277 929 
			 Robbery 8,415 2,909 4,909 597 
			 Burglary 7,791 5,186 2,555 51 
			 Theft and handling 4,125 3,713 400 12 
			 Fraud and forgery 1,692 1,377 314 1 
			 Drug offences 10,647 3,552 7,091 3 
			 Motoring offences 1,920 1,857 62 1 
			 Other offences 5,594 3,954 1,346 293 
			 Offence not recorded 408 285 112 10 
			  Note: Data taken from Table 8.12 Offender Management Caseload Statistics.

Prison Sentences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 1120-1W, on sentencing, what the highest number was of previous convictions or cautions of an offender who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence.

Crispin Blunt: The highest number of previous convictions or cautions for an offender who received a non-custodial sentence in 2009 was 578, these previous offences were committed over a period of 50 years. This figure is derived from table 6.2 of "Sentencing Statistics: England and Wales 2009" which was published on 21 October 2010.
	This figure has been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Sentences: Reoffenders

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the prisoners serving a custodial sentence of less than four years for each category of offence are repeat offenders.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows figures for the population in prison establishments at 30 June 2009 serving an immediate custodial sentence of less than four years, by offence category and criminal history. These figures are a further breakdown of table 7.32 in 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009' which was published on 22 July 2010.
	
		
			  Population in prison establishments serving an immediate custodial sentence of less than four years at 30 June 2009, by offence category and criminal history-England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			  Offence category  All offenders  First time offenders  One or more previous convictions/cautions 
			 Violence against the person 6,668 406 6,262 
			 Sexual offences 1,439 447 992 
			 Burglary 5,181 38 5,143 
			 Robbery 3,039 134 2,905 
			 Theft and handling 2,793 167 2,626 
			 Fraud and Forgery 1,440 675 765 
			 Drug offences 4,109 607 3,502 
			 Motoring offences 999 36 963 
			 Other offences 4,360 346 4,014 
			 Offence not recorded 758 57 701 
			 Total 30,786 2,913 27,873 
		
	
	These criminal history figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Prisoners' Release: Reoffenders

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the potential effects on the Social Impact Bond scheme in HM Prison Peterborough of the  (a) current economic situation and  (b) implementation of the Government's proposed reform of housing benefit.

Crispin Blunt: The Social Impact Bond pilot scheme has generated significant new resource to rehabilitate offenders, through social investors paying upfront for intensive services and mentoring to reduce reconvictions in 3,000 short-sentence (less than 12 months) prisoners released from HMP Peterborough.
	The Government will pay only on the results the scheme delivers. The effect of the Social Impact Bond in reducing reconvictions will be determined by an independent assessor against a matched control group of 30,000 offenders with similar characteristics released from other prisons. This approach will minimise the possibility that those in the scheme will be particularly sensitive to external factors such as prevailing economic conditions or changes in Government policy.

Prisoners: Deaths

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of  (a) the investigation into a death in custody by the Prison and Probations Ombudsman and  (b) the inquest and any other associated action in each financial year since 2007-08.

Crispin Blunt: The information in the following table shows the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's average cost of an investigation into a death for each financial year since 2007-08. Also shown is the number of death in prison custody investigations for each financial year since 2007-08.
	
		
			  Data on PPO death investigations 
			   Average cost of a death investigation (£)  Number of death in prison custody investigations 
			 2007-08 17,153 183 
			 2008-09 16,436 164 
			 2009-10 16,239 179 
		
	
	Inquests into deaths in prison custody are an inquisitorial fact-finding process heard by a coroner with a jury. Information on the legal costs incurred by NOMS for deaths in custody on such inquests since 2007 is as follows. They include the costs of the Treasury Solicitor, Counsel's fees and other disbursements.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2007-08 1.8 
			 2008-09 2.2 
			 2009-10 2.7 
		
	
	Information about the costs incurred on such inquests by local authorities, who are responsible for funding the coroner system, is not held centrally.
	The costs for any other associated action related to deaths in prison custody in each financial year since 2007-08 are unknown and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Prisoners: Per Capita Costs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost of a prison place in  (a) England and  (b) Wales was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: For 2008-09 (latest period available), the overall average cost per place in England was £45,000 and, in Wales was £53,000 (figures to nearest 1,000).
	The overall average cost for 2008-09 comprises the expenditure on public and private prisons (as recorded in the NOMS agency annual report and accounts), increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). This involves some estimation. The figures do not include the cost of prisoners held in police or court cells under Operation Safeguard, nor expenditure met by other Government Departments (e.g. Health and Education). The prisoner escort service costs are included. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included.
	Cost per prison place is expressed in terms of the certified normal accommodation number of places; this gives a higher unit cost than the cost per prisoner.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010,  Official Report, column 1115W, on the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, how many of the complaints to the ombudsman were upheld.

Crispin Blunt: The information in the following table shows the numbers of complaints upheld by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in the last three years. Also shown is the number of complaints deemed eligible for investigation.
	
		
			  Number of complaints upheld 
			   Eligible complaints received:  
			  Year( 1)  Prisoners and probation  Immigration detention  Number of complaints upheld 
			 2007-08 1.570 49 435 
			 2008-09(2) 1.773 55 436 
			 2009-10 2.255 69 633 
			 (1) Years are April to March. (2) The system for recording the number of complaints changed in this year.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman: Operating Costs

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 1115-6W, on the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, what estimate he has made of the likely cost of that office in 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has delegated a budget of £5.98 million for the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in 2010-11. In addition funding of £65,000 is expected from other Departments.

Prisons: Construction

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the  (a) direct and  (b) indirect costs to the public purse to date of the commissioning process for the four 1,500 bed prisons to be built under the private finance initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: Plans for a new 1,500 place prison have been deferred for the remainder of the current spending review period. Following the comprehensive spending review announcement on 20 October and the publication of the consultation Green Paper on sentencing and rehabilitation, we will now look in detail at the sentencing frameworks for adults and young offenders, and the full range of penalties currently available to sentencers.
	Approximately £0.6 million has been spent on financial and legal advice for the establishment of a PFI framework for potential 1,500 place new prisons (direct costs).
	Indirect costs include those related to the search for suitable sites and planning for potential projects at Beam Park West in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham and Runwell in Essex. These are estimated to be around £2.7 million.

Prisons: Fires

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fires have there been in prisons in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the total number of 'fire incidents' reported in the incident report system for prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three years. Fire incidents may be actual fires but could also include, for example, mischievous activation of fire alarms. To ascertain whether the incident was an actual fire would require the analysis of each individual incident report, which could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Total number of fire incidents for the last three years 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11( 1) 
			 Total number of fire incidents 1,030 996 729 
			 (1) Up to and including November 2010, therefore not including the incident at HMP Ford on new year's day.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisons: Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons have visitor centres; and what the cost of  (a) establishing the centre and  (b) running the centre in 2009-10 was in each case.

Crispin Blunt: Details on the provision of dedicated visitors' centres are not held centrally. Prisons vary greatly in the availability of facilities from which services to visitors are provided. From April 2011 the provision of services will be set out in a NOMS specification to ensure a minimum level of service delivery to visitors in England and Wales. This policy will apply whether or not a prison has a dedicated visitor centre. Funding for the provision of services to visitors is part of prison baseline funding and the costs cannot be disaggregated.

Prisons: Visits

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effects on re-offending rates of prison visitor centres.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has not assessed specifically the effects on reoffending rates of the prison visitor centres. However, the Ministry of Justice Resettlement Survey 2008 showed that offenders could be 39% less likely to reoffend if they had received family visits while in custody.

Reoffenders: Young People

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the performance of Project Heron against its objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The formal evaluation of the Heron Project is due in March 2012.
	However, initial findings about the project are promising and have shown that young people involved in the scheme are having positive experiences.

Restraint Techniques: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any restraint techniques that have been banned in secure training centres are permitted for use with children in  (a) children's homes,  (b) residential schools,  (c) immigration removal centres and  (d) NHS hospitals;
	(2)  what reports he has received of the  (a) suspension and  (b) ban of restraint techniques in secure training centres that have been used with children in (i) children's homes, (ii) residential schools, (iii) immigration removal centres and (iv) NHS hospitals.

Crispin Blunt: The three restraint techniques which are no longer used in secure training centres are the 'nose distraction technique', the 'double basket hold' and the 'double seated embrace'.
	Children's homes and residential schools are overseen by the Department for Education. Regulation 17(1) of the Children's Homes Regulations 2001 provides that no measure of control, discipline or restraint which is excessive or unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (5) (which lists prohibited disciplinary measures) may be used at any time on a child accommodated in a children's home. Any use of the restraint techniques which have been banned in secure training centres are likely to be in breach of regulation 17(1).
	In August 2009, the Director General for Children and Families in the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families wrote to all providers of secure children's homes to inform them of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings 2008. In particular, strongly recommending that neither of the restraint techniques known as "nose distraction" and "double basket hold" should be used.
	All school staff members have a legal power to use reasonable force to prevent pupils committing a criminal offence; injuring themselves or others, or damaging property; and to maintain good order and discipline among pupils(1). "The use of force to control or restrain pupils-Guidance for schools in England" was issued by the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families in April 2010 to help school staff feel more confident about using force when it is right and necessary to do so. The guidance points out that a panel of experts identified that certain restraint techniques presented an unacceptable risk when used on children and young people. These techniques are the 'double seated embrace', 'the double basket hold' and the 'nose distraction technique'.
	I have been informed by the Department of Health that there is no national list of either permitted or banned restraint techniques for use in NHS hospitals in England. But it is a requirement of regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 that, where any form of control or restraint is used, the hospital provider must have suitable arrangements in place to protect service users against the risk of such control or restraint being unlawful or otherwise excessive.
	I have also been informed by the Home Office that the 'nose distraction', 'double basket hold' and 'double seated embrace' techniques are not used in immigration removal centres.
	(1) Section 93 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

Supreme Court: Costs

Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of the establishment of the Supreme Court.

Jonathan Djanogly: There has been no change to the figure of £57.6 million announced to this House on 11 March 2010.

Supreme Court: Operating Costs

Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated running costs of the Supreme Court are for  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

Jonathan Djanogly: The estimated net running costs for the UK Supreme Court for 2010-11 are £6.305 million and for 2011-12 £6.036 million.

Trials and Sentencing

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research he is conducting into the operation of the principle of joint enterprise in criminal trials and sentencing policy; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice is not conducting research into the operation of the principle of joint enterprise in criminal trials and sentencing policy. The Law Commission published a report on Participating in Crime which examines the law in this area and this is being considered by officials together with a number of other reports.

EDUCATION

Children in Care

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were in care in each year since 2007.

Tim Loughton: The requested information is included in the following table.
	
		
			  Children looked after at 31 March( 1, 2, 3)  Yea rs ending 31 March 2007 to 2010  Coverage: England 
			  Number 
			   2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 All children looked after at 31 March 60,000 59,400 60,900 64,400 
			 (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. 
		
	
	This information is also available as part of the Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)-year ending 31 March 2010. This can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number of children who were in care at 31 March in each year since 2007 can be found in table A1. This table can be found in the excel link titled "England Summary tables".

Children's Centres: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of Sure Start children's centres which will offer full day care in deprived areas following the phasing out of the requirement to do so.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 16 December 2010
	We have not made an estimate.
	The Government are committed to increasing the focus of children's centres on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged families in their communities. Local areas are best placed to assess their communities' needs and local demand for early education and care.
	We have removed the overly prescriptive requirement for all children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care where there is no demand. However, local authorities remain responsible for ensuring that there is sufficient high-quality early education and care across the whole of their community, and many children's centres will continue to provide full day care depending on levels of demand.
	We expect children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to continue to provide high quality early education and care as part of their integrated support for families, including free nursery education for two, three, and four-year-olds and additional hours where there is demand. Centres should make sure that disadvantaged families get priority when these places are allocated.

Children's Centres: Day Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the amount that it will save by phasing out the requirement for Sure Start children's centres to offer full day care in deprived areas.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 16 December 2010
	The Department has not made an estimate of the total amount of money which could be saved by phasing out the requirement for Sure Start Children's Centres to offer full day care in deprived areas. Early education and care services in children's centres are intended to be self-sustaining from parental fees, Government funding for free nursery education for two, three and four-year-olds, and other local authority sources.
	In the past, children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas were required to provide full day care, i.e. 10 hours a day, five hours a week, for 48 weeks a year. However, the National Audit Office Memorandum for the Children's Schools and Families Committee, December 2009, suggested that in some areas, when demand for full day care is low, money intended for other Sure Start services-like family support and outreach to vulnerable families-is subsidising the provision of early education and care. By removing the requirement for children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care where there is no demand, we are enabling local authorities and children's centres to use their money more flexibly to intervene early and reach the most vulnerable families more effectively.

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the expenditure of his Department and its predecessors on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not hold a central record of its expenditure on the requested items and cannot obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of questions to his Department tabled in the  (a) House of Commons and  (b) House of Lords that remained unanswered after 10 working days as a result of observation of guidance on the timing of answers to similar questions tabled to more than one Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) on 1 December 2010,  Official R eport, column 885W.
	In the case of questions that are deemed to be "round robin", The Guide to Parliamentary Work, published by the Leader of the House of Commons:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/guide_to_parliamentary_work.pdf
	states that Departments should not delay preparing an answer until 'round robin' advice is provided, and should not miss the target deadlines for this reason.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Darlington

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many young people in Darlington participated in further education in each of the last three years prior to the introduction of education maintenance allowance;
	(2)  how many young people in Darlington participated in further education in academic year 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 20 December 2010
	 Estimates of participation in education and training for young people in each local authority (LA) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June. The full SFR can be found on the Department's website:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000938/index.shtml
	The latest figures, for end 2008, show that an estimated 91% of young people of academic age 16 (usually those in their first year after compulsory education) in Darlington LA were in some form of education or work based learning (WBL) at the end of 2008. Education maintenance allowance (EMA) was introduced nationally from September 2004. The following time-series shows numbers in education in Darlington for the three years prior to its introduction, and for every year subsequently for which data are available.
	
		
			  Participation in education and work based learning (WBL) of academic age 16-year-olds 
			  Darlington LA  Number  Percentage 
			 2001 1,100 84 
			 2002 1,100 82 
			 2003 1,000 82 
			 2004 1,100 85 
			 2005 1,100 83 
			 2006 1,200 87 
			 2007 1,200 88 
			 2008 1,200 91

Education: Assessments

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future of the Assessing Pupils Progress scheme.

Nick Gibb: Skilled and precise assessment of pupils' work is an essential part of good teaching, but we do not intend to prescribe national requirements as to how this should be done.
	Assessing Pupils' Progress (APP) is a voluntary approach to tracking pupils' progress and it is for schools to decide if they want to use it or not. We will continue to make APP resources available to schools to access should they wish to, but we will consolidate them to significantly reduce the amount of information schools have to navigate.

Education: Newham

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people resident in  (a) West Ham constituency and  (b) the London borough of Newham were not in education, employment or training (i) in 2008, (ii) in 2009 and (iii) on the latest date for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: Official estimates of the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published by the Department in a Statistical First Release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website.
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000938/index.shtml
	These estimates cannot be broken down below national level. However, Connexions Services collect information on the number and proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds NEET in each local authority area, which are published annually of the DFE website.
	http://www.education.gov.uk/16to19/participation/neet/a0064101/strategies-for-16-to-18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training-neet
	Connexions figures for the London borough of Newham at the end of 2008 and 2009 are shown as follows. As the number of young people NEET varies widely throughout the academic year, comparisons can only be made with the same period each year and figures for the end of 2010 are not due to be published in April 2011. The Department for Education does not collect Connexions data at parliamentary constituency level.
	
		
			   16 to 18-year-olds NEET 
			   Number  Proportion (percentage) 
			 2008 640 7.7 
			 2009 540 6.7

Financial Services: Education

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will discuss with Teach First the teaching of financial capability as part of teacher training.

Nick Gibb: The recently published schools White Paper 'The Importance of Teaching' sets out how schools will be freed from the constraints of central Government direction, including trusting the professional judgment of teachers to support all children to progress. Teachers, rather than Government, have the expertise to identify the resources that meet the needs of their pupils.
	We have also announced our intention to hold an internal review of Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education, which includes finance education. More details will be announced in the new year.
	Any conclusions from this review that might lead to changes in teacher training will be notified to all teacher training providers, including Teach First.

Free School Meals: Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of providing free school meals to all children in primary schools in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The estimated annual cost of offering universal free school meals (FSM) provision for children from Nursery to Year 6, would have been £1.8 billion per annum in 2010, rising to £2 billion in 2014. There is also an additional one-off cost of just under £80 million in capital spending that would be required to provide the additional meals in 2010.
	This estimate is based on cost per child estimates produced by HM Treasury and Child Poverty Unit (adjusted for inflation), and DfE estimates on the number of additional children who would take FSM if there is universal provision instead of the current FSM entitlement criteria.

Free Schools

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the  (a) purpose and  (b) objectives are of his Department's Free Schools Group.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 21 December 2010,  Official Report, column 1242W. The purpose and objectives of the Free Schools Group are to develop policy and provide support to groups and individuals who are interested in establishing a new school.

Free Schools

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many enquiries his Department has received from parties interested in setting up free schools to date.

Nick Gibb: As referred to in the recent White Paper 'The Importance of Teaching', the Department has received over 180 proposals from groups and individuals interested in establishing a free school.

Languages: Finance

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what funding his Department expects to provide for the Language Assistants programme after the 2011-12 academic year.

Nick Gibb: The Department has allocated around £700,000 a year in each of the next four years to the Language Assistants programme. The exact amount will be discussed and agreed with the delivery organisation prior to the start of each financial year, as is usual practice.

New Schools Network

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 9 September 2010,  Official Report, column 274W, on the New Schools Network, how many items of feedback his Department has received on the quality and timeliness of the service provided by that organisation; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such item.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not systematically collect details of feedback received on the New Schools Network. Verbal feedback on the New Schools Network from proposers has been positive.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010,  Official Report, column 920W, on the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010, if he will place in the Library a copy of each document on each file on Clauses 11 to 14 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill of Session 2009-10 that relates to  (a) sex education and  (b) general PSHE policy; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Clauses 11-14 of the Children, Schools and Families Bill 2009-10 that relate to sex education and general PSHE policy are:
	a. education about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
	b. education about emotional health and well-being
	c. sex and relationships education
	d. education about nutrition and physical activity
	e. education about personal finance
	f. education about individual safety, and
	g. careers, business and economic education
	The Department holds many documents relating to the above subjects and to place a copy of all such documents in the House of Commons Library would take a disproportionate amount of time and exceed the acceptable cost threshold for answering PQs.

Religion: English Baccalaureate

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to include religious studies as a humanities subject in the English Baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: For the purposes of the 2010 Performance Tables, history or geography will count towards the humanities element of the English Baccalaureate. We will review the precise definition of the English Baccalaureate for the 2011 Tables, but would not expect to remove any of the qualifications identified for the 2010 Tables.
	The English Baccalaureate will give pupils the opportunity to study a core of academic subjects. This does not mean that we wish to restrict choices or opportunities for wider study, and the core of subjects in the English Baccalaureate is small enough to allow for that. Study in other subjects will also be valuable to pupils and we will encourage all pupils to study others subjects alongside the core English Baccalaureate, in order to get a well rounded education.
	We recognise, as many schools do, the benefits that religious studies can bring to pupils. This is why the teaching of religious studies remains compulsory throughout a pupil's time at school. Success in all subjects studied at GCSE, including religious studies, will also continue to be recognised by other performance table measures, as it has in the past.

Schools: Admissions

Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the number of surplus places available at schools in  (a) Reading East constituency and  (b) England in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places in maintained schools (except special schools) through an annual survey. The numbers of surplus places are reported at local authority level and not broken down by constituency. Information on surplus school capacity is not collected from independent schools. However, the Department is able to establish where there is spare capacity in academies as they return data on the number of agreed pupil places as set out in their funding agreements.
	As at May 2010, there were 212 surplus places in John Madejski Academy in Reading. In maintained primary schools there were 1,596 surplus places and in maintained secondary schools there were 977 surplus places.
	Copies have been placed in the House Libraries of the most recent data available relating to the position in maintained schools and academies at May 2010 and surplus places information from previous years' survey results. Information on school capacity within academies is available since 2008.

Schools: Languages

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of children at key stage 2 in maintained schools who are studying at least one modern foreign language.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 16 December 2010
	Research published by the Department in July 2009 showed that 92% of primary schools were teaching languages to at least some of their year groups at key stage 2. 69% of primary schools were teaching it to all four year groups. In most cases, this included all pupils within key stage 2.

Social Services: Children

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many serious incident notifications subsequent to the death of a child under one year of age were received by Ofsted in each quarter since April 2007.

Tim Loughton: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 8 December 2010:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	All the available Ofsted data have been checked and the information on serious incident notifications subsequent to the death of a child under one year of age is presented in the table at the end of this letter. The table shows the quarter in which the incident occurred, rather than that in which Ofsted was notified, because a record of when each notification was received is available for most, but not all of the earlier data.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Tim Loughton MP, Minister for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Notifications of child deaths aged under one year 
			  Quarter period  Number 
			 April to June 2007 9 
			 July to September 2007 10 
			 October to December 2007 21 
			 January to March 2008 18 
			 April to June 2008 16 
			 July to September 2008 10 
			 October to December 2008 27 
			 January to March 2009 12 
			 April to June 2009 28 
			 July to September 2009 11 
			 October to December 2009 19 
			 January to March 2010 17 
			 April to June 2010 10 
			 July to September 2010 16

Vocational Education

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the future of vocational learning in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: I have asked Professor Alison Wolf to carry out a review of vocational education for 14 to 19-year-olds. Her review will consider the organisation, funding, and target audience for vocational education, and the principles that should underpin the content, structure and teaching methods. As part of the review, Professor Wolf has carried out a public call for evidence, which promoted a large number of responses which she is taking into consideration as her review progresses. Professor Wolf will report in spring 2011, and her findings will inform any future development of vocational education in schools.

Young People: Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future funding of training for school drugs advisers.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 20 December 2010
	Funding to support vulnerable young people and to intervene early to prevent problems such as drug and alcohol misuse is available through the Early Intervention Grant. The grant allows local areas the freedom and flexibility to invest in early intervention according to their local priorities and the needs of local children, families and young people. Substance misuse will also be a priority for Public Health England with directors of Public Health and of Children's Services expected to develop a joint local approach to preventing and tackling drug and alcohol misuse.
	As set out in the Government's new Drug Strategy published earlier this month drug education should be part of a broader approach developed at the local level and covering prevention, early intervention and specialist support for those young people who need it.

TREASURY

BBC

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 30 November 2010,  Official Report, column 677W, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the meeting between Treasury officials and the Director-General of the BBC on 15 April 2010.

Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide specific details of all such discussions.

Civil Servants: Pensions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account he took of the  (a) funding components for,  (b) net income of,  (c) cash flow surplus of and  (d) market value of the local government pension scheme in determining whether to include it in his proposals for changes to employee contribution rates to public sector pensions.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 20 December 2010
	The Government announced changes to employee pension contribution rates for public servants, including local government workers, at the spending review based on the rationale set out in the interim report of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission led by Lord Hutton of Furness.
	The report shows that public service pensions have become more valuable, for example the value of a public service pension in 2003-04 is expected to be around a third higher than it would have been if life expectancy assumptions were the same as in 1955. The significant majority of the cost of these increases in value has fallen to local and national taxpayers.
	The report goes on to say that there is a clear rationale for increasing member contributions to ensure a fairer distribution of costs between taxpayers and members.
	While this policy will contribute to the sustainability of the LGPS it does not directly affect the long-term funding of the LGPS, which is dependent on the level of total contributions that is determined at triennial valuations. Factors such as those you have listed would be considered at these valuations.

Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the implementation of efficiency savings in the comprehensive spending review period.

Danny Alexander: The spending review set firm and fixed spending budgets for all Government Departments for the rest of this Parliament. Departments will need to make efficiency savings to ensure that they live within their budgets. This is an ongoing process to which the Government are fully committed. Specific measures being taken to encourage and support efficient use of budgets include:
	A reduction in administration budgets of 34% across the whole of Whitehall and its arm's length bodies over the next spending period saving £5.9 billion a year by 2014-15; and radically reducing the number of arm's length bodies across Government.
	Subjecting central Government functions to a tough new efficiency regime, monitored and supported by the new Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) which is chaired by me as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr Maude). This includes driving savings in areas such as procurement, property and major contracts.
	Greater transparency across Government's operations to enable the public to hold public bodies and politicians to account. This includes publication of individual items of spending over £25,000, all new contracts, tenders over £10,000, and the pay of senior civil servants.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Orders and Regulations: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Matthew Offord: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Standing Orders of the House to allow further time to debate statutory instruments.

George Young: I have no current plans to do so.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Aid

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the change in real terms in the UK's Official Development Assistance will be in each year between 2010-11 and 2013-14.

Andrew Mitchell: The spending review settlement provided resources to maintain the UK's ratio of Official Development Assistance to gross national income at 0.56% for 2011 and 2012 and to achieve a ratio of 0.7% from 2013. The settlement set out projections of total UK ODA for each calendar year. Total UK ODA is projected to increase in real terms by 2% in 2011, 4% in 2012 and 31% in 2013. This settlement makes the UK the first G8 country to set out concrete spending plans to meet the 0.7% target.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to involve treatment providers in the design of specifications for  (a) alcohol and  (b) drug addiction treatment services; and to what extent such specifications will be devolved to a local level;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to simplify the tendering process for  (a) alcohol and  (b) drug addiction treatment services;
	(3)  if he will bring forward proposals to require GPs to establish partnerships with local providers of  (a) alcohol and  (b) drug treatment services.

Anne Milton: 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health' sets out our vision for the future of drug and alcohol services which we propose will be funded from the new public health budget and commissioned by local authorities as part of their new public health role.
	In addition, the 'Drug Strategy 2010. Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to live a drug free life' sets out how treatment services will be commissioned locally to take account the needs of communities. This would include local engagement with general practitioner consortiums and treatment providers.
	Copies of both documents have already been placed in the Library.

Arthritis

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to establish a National Quality Standard for rheumatoid arthritis.

Paul Burstow: The case for developing a quality standard on rheumatoid arthritis will be considered as part of work to commission a comprehensive library of such standards from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, in line with plans set out in the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'.

Bone Diseases: Health Services

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the quality of ankylosing spondylitis services in England.

Paul Burstow: Health care providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in order to provide health care services. Providers need to meet the CQC's essential requirements for quality and safety of services in order to be registered and to continue to be registered.

Bone Diseases: Health Services

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether an estimate has been made of the cost of ankylosing spondylitis to the  (a) NHS and  (b) economy in each of the last five years.

Paul Burstow: The information is not available because the Department does not collect the cost to the national health service of treating individual diagnoses.

General Practitioners: North East

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department has received a business plan from the  (a) Newcastle Bridges,  (b) Langbaurgh and  (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium;
	(2)  whether the  (a) Newcastle Bridges,  (b) Langbaurgh and  (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium holds a contract with Egton Medical Information Systems Ltd;
	(3)  what the membership is of the managing group of the  (a) Newcastle Bridges,  (b) Langbaurgh and  (c) County Durham and Darlington GP commissioning consortium; and which members are (i) registered doctors, (ii) registered nurses and (iii) others.

Simon Burns: On 8 December 2010, the first groups of general practitioners (GPs) who will take the lead in the Government's plans for commissioning health services were announced. 52 groups of GP practices from across England have been selected to be the first to take on commissioning responsibilities as part of the Government's plans set out in the NHS White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS'.
	The Department does not hold the specific information requested. The information may be best obtained through strategic health authorities, who are responsible for managing the selection process for the GP pathfinders.

Health Centres

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to provide information to the public on GP-led commissioning.

Simon Burns: The Department published the White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' on 12 July 2010, setting out plans to transfer the commissioning of the majority of NHS services to general practitioner (GP) consortium supported by the NHS Commissioning Board. 'Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps', published on 15 December 2010, confirms the Department's intention to carry these reforms through and sets out in more detail how we propose that consortium will operate. Both of these documents are publicly available on the Department of Health website.
	The Department will be introducing the Health and Social Care Bill shortly, which will include details on GP-led commissioning. The Department will be communicating to the public, patients and staff about the content of the Bill.
	In addition, the Department announced the first group of GP consortium to join a national pathfinder programme in December as part of a series of rolling admissions onto the programme over the coming months. Communications around this programme are likely to include public facing elements with communications through the media, as well as staff and public facing stakeholder groups.
	As the Department develops its proposals for GP-led commissioning, it will continue to engage with clinicians, professional organisations and the public in order to inform them of their plans and utilise their expertise in implementing the reforms.
	Going forward, one of the principal aims of GP commissioning is to make decisions more sensitive and responsive to the needs and wishes of patients and the public. Good communication and engagement with the public will be vital. The forthcoming Bill will place a duty on GP consortium and the NHS Commissioning Board to ensure that people who may receive a service are involved in its planning and development, and to promote and extend public and patient involvement and choice.

Health Visitors: Greater London

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the planned new health visitor posts will  (a) be full-time and  (b) be located in Greater London.

Anne Milton: The Department will publish 'Health Visiting Implementation plan-A Call to Action', early in the new year, which will set out the Government's commitment to a larger, re-energised health visiting service. This will deliver a new model of support to families, building on the Healthy Child Programme, and will provide further clarification to how this increase will be achieved and what the expectations of strategic health authorities and service providers will be.
	The plan supports the 'Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011/12', which identified health visiting provision as a key service priority for the national health service over the next year.

HIV Infection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many HIV diagnoses there were  (a) in each ethnic minority group and  (b) in total in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of new HIV diagnoses made in England, by ethnic group, 2005-09 
			   Year of diagnosis 
			  Ethnic group  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 White 2,802 2,879 3,082 2,964 2,878 
			 Black Caribbean 268 253 219 245 225 
			 Black African 3,712 3,274 2,867 2,727 2,084 
			 Black Other 118 124 136 149 126 
			 Indian subcontinent 102 120 128 139 103 
			 Other/mixed 346 330 308 339 280 
			 Other Asian/Oriental 33 41 57 75 112 
			 Not reported 88 75 130 182 304 
			 Total 7,469 7,096 6,927 6,820 6,112 
			  Notes: 1. Data are presented as first HIV diagnosis in England in each calendar year. 2. Diagnoses are from reports received to end June 2010. Numbers will rise as further reports are received. 3. The number of new diagnoses where ethnicity is "not reported" will decrease as routine follow-up is conducted.  Source: Health Protection Agency

HIV Infection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost per patient was of antiretroviral therapy for HIV in the latest year for which figures are available.

Anne Milton: The estimated annual cost of HIV antiretroviral therapy per patient is £7,000 to £10,000 per year. Costs will vary depending on commissioning arrangements and an individual's clinical stage of HIV. For patients with complex treatment needs, antiretroviral drug costs will exceed £10,000 a year.

HIV Infection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on HIV prevention in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10;
	(2)  how much of his Department's expenditure on HIV prevention was targeted at people of African origin in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10;
	(3)  which organisations received funding from his Department for HIV prevention for people of African origin between 2005-06 to 2009-10; and how much funding was allocated to each organisation in each year;
	(4)  how much funding from his Department each  (a) Department of central Government,  (b) local authority and  (c) primary care trust spent on HIV prevention in each year since 2005-06.

Anne Milton: The Department has contracts with the Terrence Higgins Trust and the African Health Policy Network (AHPN) for national programmes of HIV prevention for men-who-have-sex-with-men and African communities respectively. The total amount spent by the Department in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10 on HIV prevention is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 1,600,000 
			 2006-07 2,585,000 
			 2007-08 2,835,000 
			 2008-09 2,705,000 
			 2009-10 2,922,000 
		
	
	The Department funds the AHPN specifically for HIV prevention. The AHPN is an umbrella organisation for African communities in England. The AHPN commissions a programme of African HIV prevention interventions with community based organisations across England. The amount allocated to the AHPN for HIV prevention work is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 400,00 
			 2006-07 785,000 
			 2007-08 1,035,000 
			 2008-09 805,000 
			 2009-10 1,022,000 
		
	
	The Department does not fund other central Government Departments, local authorities or primary care trusts (PCTs) for HIV prevention work. PCTs fund NHS HIV prevention taking account of local needs and priorities.

HIV Infection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people of each  (a) gender and  (b) ethnicity were recorded as having HIV in each year from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of people (all ages) living with diagnosed HIV infection in England, by gender: 2005-09 
			  Gender  2005( 1)  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Male 28,171 31,078 33,964 36,728 39,510 
			 Female 14,885 16,614 18,003 19,605 20,730 
			 Total 43,061 47,692 51,967 56,333 60,240 
			 (1) In 2005, five people were reported with gender data unavailable.  Source: Health Protection Agency 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of people (all ages)  living with diagnosed HIV infection in England, by ethnic group: 2005-09( 1) 
			  Ethnic group  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 White 21,290 23,437 25,648 27,642 29,821 
			 Black Caribbean 1,328 1,479 1,625 1,781 1,904 
			 Black African 16,570 18,364 19,687 21,251 22,220 
			 Black other 748 872 947 1,076 1,178 
			 Indian sub continent 516 601 686 781 853 
			 Other/mixed 1,763 1,934 2,126 2,319 2,501 
			 Other Asian/Oriental 585 671 777 862 961 
			 Not reported 261 334 471 621 802 
			 Total 43,061 47,692 51,967 56,333 60,240 
			 (1) These data are from SOPHID (survey of prevalent HIV infections diagnosed) which calculates the number of diagnosed HIV infected individuals accessing care. These data do not include patients who are living with an undiagnosed HIV infection.  Source: Health Protection Agency

John Radcliffe Hospital: Heart Diseases

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the costs of implementing the organisational recommendations of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the findings of the July 2010 review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit;
	(3)  what representations he has received from  (a) families of former patients and  (b) others on the conduct of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit;
	(4)  for what reasons the option of keeping open the John Radcliffe Hospital's Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit was not considered in the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England;
	(5)  what account the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England has taken of the findings of the July 2010 review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit;
	(6)  whether the consultation document prepared as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England will consult on the option of keeping Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit open;
	(7)  when the consultation document prepared as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital cardiac services in England will be published;

Simon Burns: A robust financial analysis, including the estimated costs relating to implementation, is being undertaken as part of the option appraisal process. The Joint Committee of primary care trusts (JCPCT)(1), the main decision-making body for the review, will take into consideration financial appraisal of the options when making its final decision on future options of configuration.
	The Secretary of State is aware of the findings of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit.
	The independent review was commissioned by the South Central strategic health authority and has concluded that the four child deaths which led to the review being undertaken were not attributable to poor surgical practice. The children who died had complex conditions and were at a high risk for surgery. However, the findings raised a number of procedural and governance issues, which need to be addressed by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. It recommended the continued suspension of the service pending a decision on its future place within the national service by the NHS Safe and Sustainable review.
	The Department has received seven representations on the conduct of the review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe Paediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, including three pieces of correspondence from families of former patients.
	On the basis of information currently available, the Safe and Sustainable review team is likely to recommend to the JCPCT that the eventual options for reconfiguration that are put out for public consultation in 2011 do not include the paediatric cardiac surgery service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital. The review team have considered the outcome of an independent assessment of all paediatric cardiac surgery services in England in May and June 2010 by an expert panel chaired by Professor Sir Ian Kennedy.
	The purpose of the Safe and Sustainable assessment process was to assess the ability of the current paediatric cardiac surgery services to meet new standards in the future. The outcome of this assessment was that that service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital received the lowest ranking assessment of the current 11 centres, by a significant margin.
	The Safe and Sustainable review team undertook further work to determine whether the location of the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital could justify its inclusion in potential options on the grounds that this would improve overall access for children and families. This showed that, in the national context of a reduction in number of units, the inclusion of the John Radcliffe hospital unit in the potential options would not improve overall access for children and families.
	Not being included in options for consultation does not mean that the JCPCT has made any decision about the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital.
	The review of paediatric cardiac surgery and clinical governance at the Oxford John Radcliffe paediatric cardiac surgery unit was conducted separately from the NHS Safe and Sustainable review, and did not form part of the Safe and Sustainable Review assessment process. The purpose of the Safe and Sustainable assessment process was to assess the ability of paediatric cardiac surgery services to meet new service standards in the future.
	The JCPCT aims to agree recommendations for reconfiguration at a public meeting in the next few months. These recommendations will be published for a full public consultation in 2011. A final decision about the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital and the other current services will not be made until the outcome of the public consultation has been considered. Parents, national health service staff and the public will have the opportunity to make their views known during the consultation process, including on the future of the service at the Oxford John Radcliffe hospital.
	It is currently planned that the consultation document will be published in February 2011, subject to the decision by the JCPCT.
	(1) The JCPCT was established as part of the NHS Safe and Sustainable programme to develop the consultation document on behalf of PCTs and take decisions on issues, which are the subject of consultation

Organs: Donors

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish guidelines for the harvesting of non-heart beating organs from accident and emergency units; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department recently organised a workshop in association with the College of Emergency Medicine and NHS Blood and Transplant. The aims of the workshop were to explore the key issues surrounding the role of Emergency Medicine in organ donation, including non-heart beating donation, and through discussion to gain as much consensus as possible.
	The Department is currently preparing a consensus document based on an analysis of the workshop, that could be helpful in optimising the potential for donation from Emergency Medicine, including obtaining consent from relatives and increasing donor rates.

Orphan Drugs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department plans to provide guidance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on developing a separate appraisal procedure for ultra-orphan drugs;
	(2)  whether his Department plans to issue guidance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the development of a separate appraisal procedure for ultra-orphan drugs.

Simon Burns: We have no such plans. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is an independent body and is responsible for developing its own appraisal processes and methods, in consultation with stakeholders.

Pain

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with chronic pain in each year since 2000.

Paul Burstow: The information is not available centrally. Information is available on the number of episodes of care in specialist settings for patients with chronic pain, but this would not give information on new diagnoses-many patients may be coming back for further treatment after an initial assessment, the majority of patients with chronic pain are managed in primary care and information is not routinely available.

Pain: NHS

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on chronic pain in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Estimated expenditure on chronic pain in England for financial years 2006-07 to 2008-09 is given in the following table. Estimates are not available before this date.
	
		
			  Estimated expenditure on chronic pain in England, 2006-07 to 2008-09 
			  Financial year  Gross expenditure (£000) 
			 2006-07 1,007,704 
			 2007-08 1,155,768 
			 2008-09 1,170,652 
			  Notes:  1. Expenditure figures are from estimated England level programme budgeting data, which are calculated using primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority programme budgeting returns and Department of Health Resource Accounts data. Figures will include an estimation of special health authority expenditure.  2. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Caution is therefore advised when using programme budgeting data to draw conclusions on changes in PCT spending patterns between years.  3. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease specific expenditures do not include expenditure on prevention, or costs associated with the time of general practitioners or other primary care professionals, but do include prescribing expenditure.  4. Data for subcategories such as chronic pain are expected to be less robust than data on main categories such as neurological conditions.

Social Services: Inspections

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum length of time between site visits to social care providers will be under the new inspection methodology and staffing complement proposed for the Care Quality Commission.

Paul Burstow: The new registration system for private and voluntary health care and adult social care providers was set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). It came into effect from 1 October 2010.
	The 2008 Act does not set minimum inspection frequencies for services. Instead it allows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to adopt a risk-based approach and discussions about when to inspect are based on intelligence and an assessment of risk.
	In terms of staffing, CQC is an independent body and it is therefore for CQC to determine the appropriate staffing complement in order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.
	The following information has been provided by CQC:
	Under CQC's new inspection methodology, every Adult Social Care provider is due to get a planned review every two years. As the new methodology only came into force on 1 October 2010 it is too early to give a clear estimate of how many site visits will be made, or the length of time between visits. CQC is not planning any further changes to the methodology in the next 12 months.
	The methodology does not prescribe a set frequency or duration for visits. In line with the principles of risk-based regulation, CQC carries out visits in line with its judgement of risk when these are the most effective way of gathering information about compliance. This means CQC targets its resources on providers where the risk is highest, while reducing the regulatory burden on providers where the risk is low.

Social Services: Inspections

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average number of site visits to be made to social care providers each year under the new inspection methodology and staffing complement proposed for the Care Quality Commission.

Paul Burstow: The new registration system for private and voluntary health care and adult social care providers was set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act). It came into effect from 1 October 2010.
	The 2008 Act does not set minimum inspection frequencies for services. Instead it allows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to adopt a risk-based approach and discussions about when to inspect are based on intelligence and an assessment of risk. Given that decisions are based on risk, and the new methodology has only been in place since October, we have no estimate of the average number of visits.
	In terms of staffing, CQC is an independent body and it is therefore for CQC to determine the appropriate staffing complement in order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.
	The following information has been provided by CQC:
	Under CQCs new inspection methodology, every Adult Social Care provider is due to get a planned review every two years. As the new methodology only came into force on 1 October 2010 it is too early to give a clear estimate of how many site visits will be made.
	CQC anticipate that 55% of its reviews will be responsive and 45% planned. A planned or responsive review will not necessarily involve a site visit if there are no known risk factors to trigger one. This is in line with the principles of better regulation. CQC has emphasised in it's methodology that it expects a larger number of shorter, focused inspections to look at particular outcomes.

CABINET OFFICE

Advisory Bodies: Publications

Julian Huppert: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department issues to Government departments on the publication of the minutes and agenda items of statutory advisory committees.

Francis Maude: holding answer 10 January 2011
	Guidance on the publication of proceedings of meetings by public bodies is set out in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments". A copy of the Cabinet Office "Guide" can be downloaded from:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/public-bodies-and-appointments
	A copy is also available from the Libraries of the House.

Business: Closures

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many businesses have ceased trading in the  (a) Richmond-upon-Thames and  (b) Kingston-upon-Thames local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many businesses have ceased trading in the (a) Richmond-upon-Thames and (b) Kingston-upon-Thames local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births, deaths and survivals are available from the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The table below contains the latest statistics available, which show enterprise deaths for Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
	
		
			  Enterprise  deaths for Richmond-upon- Thames and Kingston -upon- Thames in 2007, 2008 and 2009 
			  Number 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 1,125 1,150 1,410 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 790 740 995

Employment: Disability

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people identifying themselves as disabled were in employment in  (a) the London borough of Bexley and  (b) Greater London in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated December 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people identifying themselves as disabled were in employment in (a) the London Borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London in each of the last three years. (32460)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1 shows the number of people identifying themselves as disabled who were in employment in Greater London and the London Borough of Bexley, for the 12 month periods ending in December from 2007 to 2009 from the APS, along with the latest estimate for the 12 months ending June 2010.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of disabled( 1)  people in employment 
			  Thousands 
			  12 month ending  Greater London  Bexley 
			 December 2007 347 12 
			 December 2008 364 13 
			 December 2009 374 13 
			 June 2010(2) *389 ***15 
			 (1) People who are DDA disabled or have a work limiting disability. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key: * 0 = CV<5%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation  Source: Annual Population Survey

Employment: Harlow

Robert Halfon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were in employment in Harlow constituency in each year since 2000.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were employed in Harlow constituency in each year from 2000 to 2010. (032289)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	The Harlow parliamentary constituency changed to new boundaries at the 2010 general election. Figures for the current Harlow parliamentary constituency are only available from 2004.
	Table 1 shows the number of persons in employment resident in Harlow parliamentary constituency for the 12 month periods ending in December from 2004 to 2009 from the APS, along with the latest estimate for the period ending June 2010.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons( 1)  in employment resident in Harlow parliamentary constituency 
			  12 month period ending:  Thousand 
			 December 2004 44 
			 December 2005 43 
			 December 2006 47 
			 December 2007 47 
			 December 2008 44 
			 December 2009 44 
			 June 2010 ***42 
			 (1) Persons aged 16 and over  Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality.  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key : * 0 = CV<5%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes  Source: Annual Population Survey

Legal Services Commission: Procurement

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work has been undertaken by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) under the Supplier Feedback Service in respect of the complaint against the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in 2010; when he expects that work to be concluded; and what mechanisms are in place for the OGC to take steps together with  (a) the LSC and  (b) Ministers in response to that work.

Francis Maude: OGC is now part of the Cabinet Office. The Supplier Feedback Service wrote to the LSC in November asking them to provide a response, by 22 December, to the concerns raised by a supplier. The SFS has received the response and requested further clarification from LSC by 14 January. The SFS will decide upon the next steps once this clarification has been provided, and expects to be able to respond to the complainant by 31 January.

Unemployment: Richmond upon Thames

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in Richmond Park constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	  Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated January 2011:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in Richmond Park constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in the latest period for which figures are available. (32968)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	The number of claimants of JSA in the Richmond Park constituency in November 2010 was 1,168.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk